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WAS PRESENTED 


HIS EXCELLENCY THE MOST HON’BLE GEORGE FREDERICK 
SAMUEL, MARQUESS OF RIPON, K G„ P. C„ G. M. S. L, 
VICEROY AND GOVERNOR GENERAL OF INDIA. 


HIS LORDSHIPS HUMBLE SUBJECT 


MUHAMMAD SAJJAD HUSSAIN, PROPRIETOR, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER 


LUCKNOW. 


THURSDAY the 29th DECEMBER. 






» 











































































I 


I 























CARTOONS 


FFOM 



REGISTERED UNDER ACT XXV. OF 1867, 

AND ALL RIGHTS RESERVED IN INDIA AND GREAT BRITAIN, 
BY MUHAMMAD SAJJAD HUSSAIN. 


A SELECTION 


FROM 


THE ILLUSTRATIONS WHICH HAVE APPEARED IN 

■®1« (0 0 f » Jt®l 

IFIROIM: 1877 TO 1881. 


WITH AN 


INTRODUCTION, EXPLANATORY NOTES 

TO EACH PLATE 


AND A POSTFACE, ALL IN ENGLISH. 


LUCKNOW : 

OUDH PUNCH OFFICE. 




OUTSIDE COVER, AND HEAD AND TAIL PIECES 
DESIGNED BY A. C. 

DRAWN BY FUSEEH-UD-DIN. 

ALL THE ENGLISH LETTERPRESS BY RICHARD CRAVEN, PRINTER, 
LONDON PRINTING PRESS, LUCKNOW. 

THE ILLUSTRATIONS REDRAWN AND LITHOGRAPHED BY THE STAFF OF 

El® 

LUCKNOW. 


THIS COLLECTION 


is 

RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED, 

BY 

GRACIOUS PERMISSION, 

TO 

SIR GEORGE E. W. COUPER, Bart., C. B., K. C. S. I., C. I. E., B. C. S., 
Counsellor of the Empress, 

Lieutenant-Governor of the North-Western Provinces 

AND 

Chief Commissioner of Oudh, 
by 

HIS OBLIGED AND FAITHFUL SERVANT, 

MUHAMMAD SAJJAD HUSSAIN, PROPRIETOR, EDITOR AND PUBLISHER 

OF 


Golaganj,— LUCKNOW, 
29th December 1881. 


LUCKNOW. 


























/ 









V 






















































































































CONTENTS 


INTRODUCTION ... ... ... ... Pages i to iii 

ILLUSTRATIONS AND DESCRIPTIONS ... ... „ 2 7 

POSTFACE ... ... ... ... „ itoxi 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 


TITLE. 

ARTIST. 

iY o 

ORIGINAL TITLE PAGE OF “ THE OUDH PUNCH” 

Wazir Ali 

1 

TITLE PAGE NOW IN USE 

“Shauq” 

2 

AN OPIUM DEN IN LUCKNOW 

Wazir Ali 

3 

A CONFIDENTIAL CHAT AT BERLIN 

...From “The Graphic”... 

4 

“MY BEAR ALWAYS DANCES TO THE GENTEELEST OF 

TUNES” John Tenniel 

5 

10 TRIUMPHE! 

“ Shauq” 

6 

THE EX-AMIR OF KABUL A STATE PRISONER 

•• 

7 

DIFFICULTIES WITH KABUL AND BURMAH ... 

• • • 

8 

FAMINE IN KASHMIR 

• • • H ... 

9 

MR. (OUDH) PUNCH WELCOMING SIR GEORGE COUPER 

* * * » 

10 

THE COMING KING 

( Adapted by “ Shauq” | 
\ From “Fun” j 

11 

MR. (OUDH) PUNCH GREETING HOLI 

“ Shauq ” 

12 

AT THE CATTLE SHOW 

» ... 

13 

THE STRUGGLE FOR A PLACE 

• • • J) ... 

14 

“REBELLION HAD BAD LUCK” 

f Adapted by “ Shauq” 1 
\ From “ Punch” / 

15 


“WHEN GREEK MEETS GREEK THEN COMES THE TUG OF WAR” 
A TRUE REFORMER 

EMBARKED UPON A SEA OF TROUBLES 
A BURNING QUESTION 






f Adapted by “ Shauq” I 
\ From “ Fun” J 

“Shauq” 


17 

18 
19 


“ HE THAT WILL NOT WHEN HE MAY 


20 




The Inhabitants of India are supposed by many to have no sense of humour, and to be as 
impervious to a joke as Sydney Smith’s Scotchman, but any one who has studied them or who has 
made himself acquainted, with a few even, of the man}' - quaint and humourous stories and songs current 
in their vast and splendid country, will at once be able to demonstrate by quotation or other reference, 
how unfounded such a supposition is. It would be out of place here, for us to attempt to write an 
Essay on “ Eastern humour” but a more fascinating or interesting subject could hardly be conceived, 
and it might easily be shown, doubtless to the astonishment of several, that a great number of the 
old, witty or grotesque, stories and songs, that have long been current in the West, owe their origin to 
the East. 

The writer has often heard it stated, that in India there appeared to be no “Volks Leider,” no 
Nursery Rhymes, no “ Street Songs,” and his assurance in reply to such remarks, that India is pre¬ 
eminently the land of popular story and song, has frequently been met with expressions of doubt. * 
It is true that the subject has hitherto had little time or attention bestowed upon it by European 
Students, but at present there are many unmistakeable indications, that the people of the West are 
beginning to take a kindly and sympathetic interest, in the vast unworked mine of Indian popular 
literature, both oral and written; and let us hope that ere long, the Folk-songs and stories,—the 
popular literature in fact—of each of the various Indian Nations will be collected, recorded and 
rendered generally accessible by appropriate translation and careful elucidation, to all, and there 
are many such, who are anxious to pursue the interesting study. This could not of course be done 
by a single worker, India is a vast assemblage of Communities, all differing very materially in religion, 
language, customs, and traditions, many local workers would therefore be needed, and we firmly 
believe that Men, and Women too, competently equipped for the work, will in the course of time be 
forthcoming, each in their own circle of study, doing for India what the Brothers Grimmt have done 
for Germany, nay for all Europe. 

* For some information on this point see the Postface. 

f Jacob Ludwig Carl (1785—1863) and Wilhelm Carl Grimm (1786—-1859), the founders of that science which is now 
called Folk-lore, fellow workers throughout life, they were not long separated by death. The elder Grimm’s first published 
literary work was an essay “SJcber ten altiicutsdjen fEtei.Stfi'gckang. (Gottingen, 1811.” In succeeding years, the Brothers became 
the joint authors of the various Works, which have rendered them so famous, but here we need only mention j! |Eini>cr-unt 
l)iiu£=Jlitard}en. fUerUn 1812” a Collection of popular stories, partly from the mouths of the People, partly from MSS. and which 
has gone through several hundred editions in Germany, besides being translated into many Foreign languages; and their 
“ peutgetye J»agc. Berlin 1816 — 18,” an Analysis and critical sifting of the oldest epic traditions of the Germanic races, a work 
which has also had a very wide circulation in many editions and languages. 









































































( ii ) 


In many parts of India there are numerous enterprising individuals, who by the aid of printing 
or lithography, publish in various Indian languages and dialects, and at marvellously cheap rates, 
thousands of copies of the more highly esteemed and popular songs and stories,* some of ancient, 
others of comparatively modern origin. It is also a pleasure to record, and this is done advisedly and 
with some knowledge of the subject, that with very few exceptions, the popular literature thus circu¬ 
lated is pure and faultless in tone. In India, as elsewhere, the patrons of licentious literature are not to 
be found among the so called “ Lower classes ” or Peasantry, and it is also a fact that in this Country, 
certain social and other conditions, favourable to the spread, or possibly, growth, of literature &c., in 
la langue verte, do not exist to an appreciable extent among the “Upper classes;” this, unfortunately, 
cannot be said of other—Western—countries, where the miserable business of purveying a “facetious” 
or erotic literature is a profitable one, although of course illegal, and surrounded by the pains and 
penalties of the law.t 

From printing and lithographic presses in several of the larger cities of India,| publications are 
issued weekly and otherwise, conducted on the same principles as our old Friend, Punch, or the 
London Charivari, some of these Papers being illustrated, others riot. In these prints, Foreign politics 
affecting the East, National and local affairs, Social customs, and other topics of similar interest are 
discussed and commented upon, sometimes very ably and cleverly, at other times feebly and with a 
tendency to ridicule individuals, rather than measures, or abuses real or imaginary. Many of these 
papers have a large, regular circulation, which during times of popular excitement, is greatly increased. 
Any one who cares to examine the files of any of such publications as may be issued in his neighbour¬ 
hood, will perhaps be surprised to find, how ably, and with every regard for decorum they are 
as a rule, written, illustrated, and edited; and, to their credit be it said, many an Indian Editor of such a 
paper has proved himself to be a man of honor and independence, under temptations of various kinds, 
and from various quarters. Let us also remember, when criticising such publications, that the Indian 
Serio-Comic Press is in its infancy, and bear in mind, the tone which almost invariably character¬ 
ized similar publications, in Western lands, say 60 or 70 years ago. 

Owing to the fact that these Indian papers are all printed in various vernacular dialects, they 
are to a great extent sealed books to the majority of the Foreign residents—non-official at least— 
in India, and many are possibly unaware of the existence even, of such prints. A publication, called 
The Oudh Punch, similar to those we have just described, is issued weekly, from a lithographic press 
in the City of Lucknow, and the object of the issue of this Selection from the cartoons and other 
drawings which have appeared in it, some of them original, others suggested by, or copied from, illustra¬ 
tions in English newspapers, comic and serious, is to afford the Curious among the General Public, an 
opportunity of becoming acquainted with an Indian vernacular Serio-comic paper, the first of its kind 
ever published in Oudh, or in fact, Northern India. IF 

This collection is sent forth with misgivings of various kinds, on the part of the present writer, 
which however are not shared in by the Proprietor of The Oudh Punch, who is his own Editor and 
Publisher, and in addition to the responsible duties pertaining to these offices, has, on every occasion, 
suggested to his Artist, || the subject and mode of treatment of the cartoon or other illustrations which 
have from time to time, appeared in his paper. The career of this Indian publisher | is a somewhat 


* See Postface. 

t Daring the year 1880, the Officers of the American “ Society for the suppression of Vice” with their head-quarters in 
New York, were instrumental in effecting the destruction of 25,561 obscene books or pictures, 14,4921bs weight of diffei-ent 
objects, made of various metals and other substances, representing lewd subjects, and 1,316,088 licentious songs; besides obtain¬ 
ing the conviction and imprisonment of 147 persons, and realizing in fines, a sum amounting to upwards of £12,000. 

J Such as The Parsee Punch, Bombay; a similar paper (with a Bengali title) in Calcutta, this however has lately ceased to 
exist we believe ; in Madras, an Urdu paper with a comic column, occasionally illustrated; and others. 

II A Paper called The Indian Punch was started in Lucknow about a year ago and is published at irregular intervals. In 
Lahore there are two prints of the same kind, one called The Delhi Punch , the other The Panjab Punch ; both of these, as well as 
The Indian Punch, are illustrated, and were brought out after the success of The Oudh Punch had been assured. 

|| For the last four years, Ganga Sahai, a self taught Hindu artist, possessed of very fair ability. His pen and ink 
sketches, illustrating different Indiau methods of irrigation, obtained the first prize for free hand drawing at the Exhibition held 
at Lucknow in March 1881. Following a custom prevalent among authors and artists in India, Ganga Sahai (this name meaning, 
“ under the protection of Mother Ganges”) has adopted as his nom de plume— Shauq —an Arabic word, for which it is difficult to find 
a satisfactory English equivalent, it may mean, interest, ardour, taste or fancy, but perhaps the best rendering in this case would be 
l< Intense,” to borrow a word largely used by the Modern school of /Esthetes. 

2 4 A Persian word, meaning an hopeful one, or one expecting something. 



( iii ) 


instructive one, and may be briefly summarised as follows. His education in bis Mother tongue, and in 
the Oriental classics being completed, Munshl Muhammad Sajjad Hussain went through a course of 
English instruction at the Canning College, Lucknow—1868-1874—and on the close of this term of 
study, he looked around him for a career or occupation, by which he might live. Profiting by advice, 
and also following his own inclination in the matter, he determined to adopt some independent occupa¬ 
tion if possible, and to avoid becoming an “ Uhmed-war/’l^a term usually applied to a candidate for 
Government employment—a place seeker—a state of existence which in India, is far too often the 
outcome of an English education, obtainable on very easy terms at the many Colleges and schools 
throughout the Country. Young India as a rule, to which however there are exceptions, considering 
himself very hardly treated, if the State, after it has educated him, almost gratuitously, t does nothing 
towards providing him with an official or other appointment. | 

The Munshf when a student at the Canning College, had many opportunities of becoming fami¬ 
liar with various English and Indian serio-comic papers, and he ultimately determined to establish 
in Lucknow, a similar publication, to be issued once a week, and thus supply a want which he con - 
ceived did exist; viz: that of a Serio-Comic illustrated paper, written in the style of Urdu current, 
among his Countrymen generally, in Oudh, the North-Western Provinces and other parts of Northern 
India. He accordingly set up a lithographic press, invited some of his friends to send him literary contri¬ 
butions, and at length on the 16th January 1877, the first number of The Oudh Punch was issued, 
in lithographed Urdu, 8 pages, folio size. At first the weekly issue consisted of 250 copies, but the cir¬ 
culation has steadily increased, and at present 500 copies are issued ; the rate of subscription being 
Rs. 12 per annum for copies delivered in Lucknow, postage in addition to the above being charged on 
all those sent beyond the radius of the free delivery, and single copies are sold at 4 annas each. In 1878 
the size of the paper was increased by four pages, and from time to time, free supplements are issued. 
At first this paper was regarded with suspicion by many Indians, who are naturally of a somewhat 
sensitive disposition, and as yet do not quite understand what may be called “chaff”; and some persons 
feared that the paper might be used as a vehicle for anonymous attacks of various kinds. It has 
now however been for upwards of four years before the Public, and we have, in answer to various en¬ 
quiries, been favoured with several critiques and opinions regarding its general tone, and the judg¬ 
ments thus expressed have been generally, most satisfactory, and were much appreciated by the Munshl, 
to whom we communicated the fact of our having made such independent enquiries. 

In conclusion we may perhaps be permitted to state, that no efforts have been spared to make 
this collection a typical and interesting one, and it is possible that, should it be received with favour, 
the issue of English translations, by several competent hands, of a selection from the social articles, 
poems, songs, bon-mots, and the like, that have been presented from time to time by “ Mr. Punch” of 
Lucknow to our Indian fellow subjects, may be attempted, as a contribution, to another Oudh Taluk- 
dars’ Agricultural Meeting, and Exhibition of Indian Arts and Manufactures. 

ARCHIBALD CONSTABLE. 

Secundra BaghRoad: Mem; As; SoG; Bmgal 

LUCKNOW, 29th December 1881. 


1 1 A native of Kakori, a town of some importance in the Lucknow District, about 9 miles west of the Capital of Oudh, 
and U miles from the Kakori Station, Oudh and Rohilkund Railway. There are several old Musalman families in this place, 
many members of which have risen to eminence, as vakils (lawyers), in different appointments in British India, or in the service 
of Independent Indian Princes. The Munshfs Father is a District Revenue Officer, near Hyderabad, in the Nizam’s Dominions. 

f At A gra the yearly cost of each College student has risen to the enormous sum of Rs. 1610. The actual cost to the State 
is indeed somewhat less, because there are large endowments. Pioneer, 14th November 1881. 

| On this point see a letter on “High education in India” signed, “An educated Native” and two Editorials thereon, in the 
Pioneer, 11th November 1881 ; also a letter ( Pioneer, 13th November 1881) by one, singing himself “ An old European,” who 
rather inclines towards the views held by “ An educated Native.” Also see a letter signed “ P” in the Pioneer of the 17th 
December 1881, combating the view that the results of high education in the North-Western Provinces are unsatisfactory and 
the editorial thereon in same issue, in which we read that “as a rule, the native graduate is a specimen of a badly educated man ; 
his intelligence developed in an uneven way, some of his faculties left uncultivated, other faculties abnormally cultivated. It is 
not altogether the fault of the Professors, who are bound to satisfy the requirements of an Examining Board over whose vagaries 
they have no control.” 



Plate No. I 

























































































































































PLATE I. 


TITLE PAGE, OR OUTSIDE COVER, ISSUED WITH “ THE OUDH PUNCH,” 
FROM JANUARY 1877 TO JANUARY 1878. 

This cover was designed by Wazir Ali, lithographic writer, a Muhammadan of Lucknow, 
who was the Artist employed on The Oudh Punch in its early days. The Persian writing on the cap of the 
figure, is the date of issue, and the nose and eyes are delineated in a fanciful Arabic toghrd* forming 
the words Oudh Punch, the lips and tongue combined, ya latdyif, Arabic words, meaning “ Jeststhe 
legend in English, Life is Pleasure, being the essence of an Urdu proverb, to the effect that, unless we 
endeavour to be happy in tins life and enjoy it, we had better not live at all. 

In one hand the figure carries a placard announcing the terms of subscription to the paper ; in the 
other, the Publishers notice regarding the days on which it will appear and other similar information. 
Registered No. 31, indicates that the publication was registered, for transmission by post at reduced 
rates, as a newspaper. The regulations under which this formality was required have since been 
modified, and from the 15th November 1881 a system of cash payments on account of newspaper t 
postage was brought into force by the Director General of the Post Office in India, whereby 
Newspaper Proprietors or Publishers are enabled to pay in advance, for a given period, not less than a 
fixed quarter of the year, the amount of inland postage payable on the number of copies they 
despatch of their papers, extras or supplements, bearing the same date and transmitted therewith under 
the same cover, being deemed part of such paper. The rates of postage under these regulations are 
very low, and will doubtless be a means of greatly increasing the circulation of various prints ; as 
formerly the cost of postage was in some cases greater than that of the newspaper itself. Under these 
new rules, every copy of a newspaper not exceeding 3 tolahs (1*2342 oz.) in weight can be sent 
between any two Post Offices in India, including Burmah, for ^ anna (0'375 of a penny), this ratej will 
practically include all the Vernacular papers in India, which are as a rule printed or lithographed on 
rather flimsy paper, as well as many price currents and similar publications ; while, for years past, the 
Indian Post Office has carried letters for a longer distance and at a cheaper rate, than is the case in 
any other single Country in the World. 


* Literally means, twisted or involved, a kind of monogram, writings in this form when executed by the best Oriental 
calligraphers are exceedingly beautiful. The Arabic and Persic characters being very well adapted for such combinations. 

f Defined under these rules as, “ any periodical publication published at regular intervals not exceeding thirty-one days.” 

^ The other rates are as follows. For every copy of a Newspaper exceeding three tolahs but not exceeding ten tolahs 
(4414 oz.) in weight, 1 anna (0'75 of a penny). For every additional ten tolahs or fraction of ten tolahs, \ anna. Copies of 
newspapers packed in bundles and sent through the Post to Agents for sale, half the above rates. “ Exchanges” sent gratuitously 
to other newspapers, are treated as exempt from postage, in calculating the amount to be paid in advance. 




Plate No. II. 





























































































































PLATE II. 


TITLE PAGE OF THE PRESENT SERIES OF “THE OUDH PUNCH.” 

It will be observed from the above, and some of the following plates, that this Indian paper has 
adopted the well-known “institutions” of Punch, John Bull, and Policeman ,in some cases clothing them 
in Oriental garments. 

The main feature in the design is a literary symposium, presided over by Mr. (Oudh) Punch, 
and his guests consist of an Englishman on his right-hand, a Lucknow Nawab (Noble) on his left, 
a Sikh, a Mahratta, a Persian, a Bengali, a Parsee, a Jew and a Turk. The Artist who drew this 
title page, Ganga Sahai ( Shauq — Intense), has delineated very cleverly the characteristic features 
and dress of each of the Nationalities represented; and the various little pictures, forming the 
framework of the literary banquet are some of them original, and in other cases adapted or copied from 
other publications. 



Think not to find onement Resemblance here Prints should be priz’d as Authors should be read So Tub dues Taught cC so Geivanles thought 

Trr lash the Vices but the Persons spare Who sharply smile prevailing Folly dead So Nature dictated what Art has 1 aught. 



Plate No. III. 








































































































































































































































































































































PLATE III. 


INTERIOR OF AN OPIUM DEN IN LUCKNOW. 

(The Oudh Punch, 20 th March 1877). 

The East has its sins and sorrows and dark places, as well as the West, and this picture intro¬ 
duces us to a somewhat noisome scene, but unfortunately a very common one, in the great City of 
Lucknow.* 

The Oudh Punch has, from the very first, steadily and persistently, as also in fact many another 
Indian newspaper, endeavoured by pen and pencil to persuade the inhabitants of various large Indian 
towns to do all in their power to wipe away the foul stain which sullies the fair fame of many a 
Historical City, and to root out a vicious habit which has ruined thousands. This cartoon 
pourtrays as vividly, although of course not in so artistically perfect a manner, the evil effects of vicious 
indulgence, as did Hogarth in his Midnight modern conversation, one of the most powerful satires 
in our art language. 

The frequenters of such places, (called Chandu-hhdndhs t in Northern India) drawn from all 
grades of society, use opium in various ways. By some it is simply eaten in small pillules, by 
others mixed with water in certain proportions and the infusion then slowly inbibed, some smoke it 
in an ordinary Indian pipe; while a fourth class, follow the Chinese plan of inhaling the fumes of a 
small portion, which enclosed in a peculiar earthenware pipe bowl, roasts over the flame of a lamp. 

All these various methods are depicted in the cartoon, and Mr. (Oudh) Punch is represented as 
drawing aside a curtain which hangs over a rude couch, on which some one, able to afford to pay for 
greater privacy, is lying in that terrible state of coma induced by the excessive use—or abuse ?—of 
opium; and the pinched and shrunken features of the confirmed “ Affiunchee” (opium user ) are well 
pourtra}md in this and some of the other figures. The man to the left, has a piece of sugar cane in his 
hand, which he is cutting up into slices preparatory to chewing ; habitual users of opium always, if they 
can afford it, eat something sweet after they have partaken of the drug, so that its peculiar sickly 
taste may leave their palate, and they may thus derive the greatest amount of pleasure from the 
noxious habit which has enslaved them, in most cases, for ever. 


* Population of the City of Lucknow, including the Railway town at Charbagh, and Jails, as taken on the 17th 
February 1880. 


Hindus 




. 142,449 


Muhammadans 




94,851 


All others 




2,473 





Total 


239,773 



Cantonments. 




Including Sipahis 

1 Hindus 
| Muhammadans 



13,421 

4,301 


Including European | 
soldiers. J 

> All others 



3,808 

21,530 




Grand Total ... 


261,303 


Area of City and Cantonments, about 32 Square miles. 

f Lit: a house, a den, (khandh) in which opium can be smoked in the Chinese fashion (chandu). Such places are duly licensed 
and are all under the strict surveillance of the Police. “ Affiunchees,” have a very curious argot of their own, which they use to 
denote the various fixings of an opium den, and their own personal outfit, such as the drug itself, the curiously shaped stool they 
use for resting their heads on, when in a state of coma; the different minor fittings of their pipes; the stem made of bamboo of 
a special kind, and if old and well seasoned, worth from 10 to 250 Rupees. This has to be rinsed out and washed occasionally, 
and at such times the “ Affiunchee” holds high holiday, washing it with his own hands, handling it as tenderly as a mother does 
a baby, and talking to it all the time as if it were an animate being. In fact he is as careful with a well seasoned “ bumboo,” 
(corruption of bamboo, the best come from China) as a Western tobacco smoker is of his well seasoned meerschaum pipe. 
Opium eating, and drinking the various infusions of the drug, are probably indigenous habits with the Indians, but it is very 
probable, we think, that opium smoking is an imported vice, as all the names in the “Affiunchees” argot for the utensils used appear 
to us to be either Pidgeon English or of Malay origin. 







Certain professional story tellers, themselves opium users, frequent these dens, and for a few 
pence recite poems, or tell wondrous stories to those around them, thus adding to the unnatural 
excitement which precedes the stupor, following the use of the drug. 

“ Affiunchee” is a term of reproach corresponding to “ drunken sot,” and there are many satirical 
stories, proverbs, colloquialisms and verses, in which the vice is powerfully lashed, lithographed copies 
of these collections being extensively sold at popular prices, in all the large Bazaars of Northern India. 
On the other hand there are many, Urdu and Persian, verses and proverbs extolling the use of the 
drug, and in a certain Independent Indian State, famous for the excellence of its opium, this drug 
is used in various forms at ceremonial and social gatherings, in the same manner as p£n (betel nut &c.) 
is, in other parts of India. We are also informed, that at such meetings any one who refuses to par¬ 
take, or cannot or does not eat, or drink or smoke “ fair,” is held up to ridicule, in a manner that would 
have done no discredit to parallel practices of bye-gone days, in any of the head-quarters of “ hard 
drinking” in Western lands. 

The legend at the top of the picture is to the effect that, the persons in an opium den appear to 
have been turned into animals, as were certain unbelievers of old, by the Supreme Being. At the 
bottom of the plate we have reproduced the verses appended to the early impressions of Hogarth’s 
immortal design, mentioned above. 






Plate No. IY 















































































PLATE IV. 


A CONFIDENTIAL CHAT AT BERLIN. 

(The Oudh Punch, 17th April 1877.) 

This picture is a copy, from the fancy sketch of the meeting between Lord Salisbury and 
Prince Bismarck, which appeared in The Graphic, 2nd December 1876. 

All classes of Indians took a great interest in the various phases of the late Turco-Russian war, 
and during its progress the vernacular papers published translations of all the important w T ar articles, 
correspondence or telegrams, which appeared in the leading London and Indian newspapers. The 
attitude of England towards the belligerents, was also keenly watched and criticised throughout the 
length and breadth of the land ; and so great was the demand for news regarding the course of events, 
during and subsequent to the war, that the leading vernacular newspaper in Northern India, 
The Oudh Akhbar {News), published in Lucknow in lithographed Urdu, found it expedient and profitable 
to expand from a tri-weekly into a daily paper, and continues to be thus issued. 









































































































































PLATE V. 


“ MY BEAR ALWAYS DANCES TO THE GENTEELEST OF TUNES.” 

With Mr. (Oudh) Punch’s apologies to Mr. Tenniel. 

(The Oudh Punch, 8 th January 1878.) 

This illustration is copied from the cartoon which appeared in Punch, 22nd May 1875, with 
the motto, “ 0, lovely peace.” 

Early in January 1878, there were rumours afloat in the political world, that certain friendly 
European powers were preparing to use their influence to bring about a peace between Russia 
and Turkey; and the general opinion of the vernacular press in India was, that Russia would in 
this matter be guided by, and defer to the advice and wish of Germany. The Oudh Punch endeavoured 
to give expression to this prevailing opinion by reproducing a cartoon, which even after the lapse of 
several years seems very appropriate. 

The words underneath the plate are those which are used by the men who travel about Upper 
India with performing bears, and may be translated thus, “ Come, come, my little performer, arise ! 
and dance to the tune I am playing for you.” 










































































































































































































































PLATE VI. 


10 TRIUMPHE! 

(The Oudh Punch, 3rd December 1878.) 

Lord Lytton (Rama) breaks the great stone-bow of Siva (the Kabul difficulty) and thus obtains 
dominion over the country of the Afghans (Slta). 

This cartoon was suggested by the following episode in the R&nHyana, “ the great national epic 
of the Hindus, their one common and everlasting possession.” Dasaratlia, the Rajah of Ajodhya, had 
three wives, one of whom, Kausalya the lotus-eyed, bore him a son, his first born, Rama, the 
delight of the people. 

In the course of time the Rajah had two other sons, one by each of the other Rani's. One 
day when the young men were out hunting, Rffina drew the string of his bow with such force that 
the bow itself snapped in twain, whereupon one of his brothers said “ You are strong enough to break 
our bows and yours, but you should go to Mithila and try the great stone-bow that Siva gave to 
Janak the Rajah, and if you only bend it, he will give you his lovely daughter Slffi, the white 
maiden, with whom so many are in love. 

Meanwhile Visvamitra, the wise Hermit from the Northern mountains, who had asked Rama’s 
help to kill the noisome Rakshasas, (demons of gigantic size, the enemies of men and the Gods alike) 
was then journeying from his distant shrine to Janak’s kingdom, and Rama determined to await the 
arrival of the holy man and then set forth to slay the monsters, and having accomplished this task, 
journey onwards to the great City, in the kingdom of Mithild, where Janak the Rajah treasured up 
the great stone-bow which had already tried the powers of many Heroes, who had essayed to win 
the fair Sfta. 

Having after a long and weary journey, beguiled by recounting many of the legends of old 
times, arrived at Janak’s capital, the Hermit desired the bow to be brought out, and it was of so gigantic 
a size, that many hundreds of men had to be summoned to bring it in, borne upon a car with large 
and strong wheels. The Rajah and all his Nobles stood round to witness the trial, and to the wondrous 
astonishment of all, Rama the boy hero, fearlessly grasping the bow, bore it aloft before them all. Then 
putting forth his strengh, he pulled the cable-like string with power enough to have drawn together 
the arch of Heaven itself, and the bow bent in his hands like a child’s kite. Not content with this, 
he pulled until it broke in sunder, with a crash as if a mighty Mountain had been riven from top to 
bottom by an earthquake. 

In this wise did Rdma win his Bride, and the aged Visvamitra sent the glad tidings to 
Ajodhya and summoned the Rajah, who came with an immense retinue ; and when Rama’s mantle had 
been tied in a knot to Slta’s veil, the whole kingdom—nay even the Gods in Heaven—rejoiced, for men 
say that the fair Sita was not really mortal, nor born in any human household, but that the King had 
found her in a silver jar beneath the earth. 



Plate No. VII, 































































































































































































































































































































PLATE VII. 


THE EX-AMIR OF KABUL, A STATE PRISONER. 

(The Oudh Punch, 9th December 1879.) 

A scene from the second phase of the late war, the ex-Amir sitting on the ground with one end of 
a rope round his waist, the other in the hands of a British officer who is preparing to lead him away 
to exile ; to the left, Sir Frederick Roberts standing by the side of a female figure, representing the 
Afghan nation, with an arm placed on the General’s shoulder. 

The legend at the top is taken from a poem by “ Ghalib” * in which a Lover is supposed to say 
to his Mistress, when parting from her, “ I have read of the ignominious way in which Adam was 
forced to leave Paradise, but I am certain that he never felt half the remorse I now experience, when 
leaving your pleasant paths and sweet companionship.” 


* The nom de plume of a Persian poet of the modern school, born at Agra in 1797, and died at Delhi in 1869. His 
poems are very popular all over Hindustan, and many editions of them have been issued. See an exhaustive notice of “ Ghalib” 
in Vol : I, page 475 et seq: of M. Garcin de Tassy’s Ilistoire de la Litterature Hindouie et Ilindoustaine. * * Seconde edition, 
revue, corrigee, el consider ableruent augmentee. Paris. Adolphe Labitte. * * 1870. 3 vols : large 8vo : “Ghalib,” (Powerful) 

whose real name was Asad-ullah Khan, was poet laureate to Bahadur Shah, King of Delhi, the last of the Moghuls, who conferred 
upon him the titles of, Nazim-ud-dowla, the star of wealth; Dabir-xd-mulk , the instructor of the age; and Khan Bahadur , 
valiant knight. 




Plate No. YIII 


























































































































PLATE 


VIII. 


DIFFICULTIES WITH KABUL AND BURMAH. 

(The Oudh Punch, 6th January 1880.) 

Early in 1880, the Indian Government apprehended that serious difficulties and complications 
might arise in consequence of the attitude assumed by King Theebaw generally, and particularly 
towards certain British subjects resident in his territories. The situation in Kabul was also most 
critical. 

The central figure in this cartoon, a London policeman, intended to represent the Government 
of India, has in his custody two young vagabonds, one an Afghan the other a Burman, and is 
marching them off. The Afghan boy, wishing to divert the policeman’s attention, and thus perhaps 
encompass his own release, calls out, “ Oh ! you are hurting my ear very much, look there” pointing to 
the other boy, “ he is making a face at you.” The Burmese boy retorts, “ It ain’t me at all, he’s 
the rogue.” 







































































































































































































































































































































































































PLATE IX. 


FAMINE IN KASHMIR. 

(The Oudh Punch, 2 7th January 1880.) 

For several seasons the Kashmir valley had suffered from a grievous famine, and many rumours 
were current regarding the terrible sufferings undergone by the Kashmiris. It was also generally 
believed that the Government of India had strongly inpressed upon the Maharajah Ranbfr Singh, 
the urgent necessity there existed for prompt and effective measures of famine relief. A good deal 
was done by the Kashmir Durbar, and also by a body of English men and women, medical mission¬ 
aries, who for some years past have laboured with great success in the Happy Valley, having their 
head-quarters at Srinagar the Capital. Large quantities of grain were imported from India, and 
several roads were made as a means of giving employment to the starving population, who were also 
stricken by an epidemic of fever, the result of bad and insufficient food. 

In this cartoon the Maharajah (who is naturally a short man, like the majority of his countrymen, 
the Dogras or Hill Sikhs) is represented as presenting to Lord Lytton a roll, purporting to be a con¬ 
fession of faith in their Ruler and his Government, drawn up by the people themselves. His Excellency 
says, “ Quite so, I have seen this and it is all very well, but what is that behind you ?” motioning 
towards the back ground, where the gaunt spectre Famine, is descending upon a fair Kashmirin 
who has her hands clasped in the anguish of despair. 

The legend underneath the cartoon, a couplet from a poem by “ Zauq” * is supposed to be 
spoken by the Kashmirin, and may be rendered thus—“ What! do you think that the stains of blood 
on your person, are only splashes of mud chat they can be washed away so easily as that” ? The 
meaning intended to be conveyed by The Oudh Punch was, that the sorrows and sufferings of the 
people of Kashmir during the terrible famine, .were not being sufficiently regarded by the Ruler of 
the country and that the expression of trusty him-vote of confidence—supposed to have emanated 
spontaneously from his subjects, was hardly deserving of much credence. The majority of the Verna¬ 
cular papers in India appear to have deeply appreciated the Famine policy of our own Government 
in late years ; and there is no doubt that the high example set by the British Government in India, 
was the means of saving thousands of lives in neighbouring Independent States. 


* The nom de plume of Shaikh Mahummad Ibrahim, a celebrated modern poet of Delhi (1827-1854), who was instructor 
in the noble art of poesie to Bahadur Shah the last of the Moghuls who died in exile in 1862, himself a poet of no mean ability 
and who wrote (his nom de plume being “Zafar”) many verses which are very popular at the present day, especially among the 
Sufis who chant them at their religious assemblies. 




Plate No. X 






















































































































































PLATE X. 


Mr. (OUDH) PUNCH WELCOMING SIR GEORGE COUPER. 

(The Oudh Punch 30 th March 1880.) 

In March 1880, His Honor the Lieutenant Governor of the North-Western Provinces and 
Chief Commissioner of Oudh arrived in Lucknow from Allahabad, on his way to Naini Tal, the 
seat of his Government during the Indian summer—hot weather. The Hindu festival of Hoh * was 
being celebrated at the same time, and Sir George Couper is represented as ushering in “ Miss Holi ” 
with him, a crowd of merry makers, headed by Mr. (Oudh) Punch, receive them with dances and 
songs of welcome. 

HOLI. 

—o— 

I. 

“ It is the Feast of Laughter— 

Laugh first, be sober after, 

Laugh out thy fill of glee ! 

Laugh madly and yet clafter 
Till every joist and rafter 

Rings back thy laugh to thee ! 

II. 

It is the Feast of Fooling— 

Fool first, then think of schooling 
Thyself to gravity ! 

Quick, keep thy wits from cooling— 

From Reason’s despot ruling 
Fun sets the senses free ! 

III. 

It is the Feast of Gladness— 

Of Youth’s midsummer-madness, 

And thou Mirth’s Queen shalt be ! 

All echoes of all sadness, 

All images of badness 

Before thy laugh shall flee ! 

IV. 

We feast to-day, to-morrow, 

In scorn, in scorn of sorrow— 

And this our dance of glee 
A subtler sense doth borrow 
From some far morrow’s sorrow 
And memories to be ! ” 

Pekin. 


* Observed by all classes throughout Hindustan, and takes place in spring, when the old year of the Hindus is expiring. 
It is a season of universal merriment and joy, and the sports that are held at its celebration, bear some resemblance to those 
that were allowed in Rome during the Saturnalia. 
























































































































PLATE XII. 


MR. (OUDH) PUNCH GREETING HOLE 
(The Oudh Punch 1 5th March 1881.) 

In Upper India, the crops sown in the cold season at the close of the rains, are garnered in 
March, after the Holi festival is over. An Agricultural and Arts Exhibition was held in Lucknow 
on the 8th-10th March of this year, a few days before the Festival came round, and Mr. (Oudh) Punch 
is represented as saying to Holi—a fair Indian reaper—“ Ah ! if you had only come a few days 
sooner, you would have been in time to have seen the Exhibition.” 



Plate No. XIII. 











































































































































































































































































































PLATE XIII. 


AT THE CATTLE SHOW. 

(The Oudh Punch 5 th April 1881.) 

Of late years a great impetus has been given to Agricultural Reform in all parts of India, and 
the periodical cattle shows held in various Districts in every part of the country, will doubtless in time, 
produce the same beneficial results that have followed similar institutions in other lands. 

This cartoon represents Sir George Couper and His Highness the Maharajah of Bulrampur, the 
largest landed proprietor in Oudh, at the Cattle show held at Lucknow in March last, critically 
examining a fine ox, which is meant to represent the British Indian Association of Oudh, a society 
having for its object, the furtherance of the interests of the Oudh Talukdars, or landholders. 

Sir George Couper having examined the ox, says to the Maharajah, who is the President of the 
above Society, “ This seems to be a fine powerful animal and well able to drag an Exhibition cart 
every year.” The Maharajah replies, “ Just as your Honor pleases,” an Indian form of politely 
expressing deference to the wishes of superior authority. 



















































































































































































































PLATE 


XIV. 


THE STRUGGLE FOR A PLACE. 

(The Oudh Punch, 24 th May 1881.) 

This cartoon represents the position, which in the opinion of Mr. (Oudh) Punch, certain 
nationalities in India occupy, in that daily struggle for existence, which we are told, by Western sages, 
must end in the survival of the fittest. 

The leading characteristics, from an Indian point of view, of each of the four nations entered 
for the race, are very tersely expressed in the Hindustani colloquialisms underneath the picture, and 
we have endeavoured to render their meaning, as closely as possible, as follows :— 

John Bull (the Briton) well mounted and a good rider, “progresses like the wind,” lit: talks 
as fast as a rushing wind. The Parsee, easily recognized by his peculiar head-dress, and a good 
second by about a neck, “ gets on fairly well without much fuss.” 

The Bengali, well mounted on a steady, ambling horse, his head uncovered in the style so 
familiar to all dwellers in Ind, with a loose flowing dhoti, (a piece of cloth covering the waist and legs) 
his national dress, and with some dried fish hanging from the crupper of his saddle, “ even although 
no great rider, by persevering gets on well, somehow or another; and carries his days provender with 
him”—alluding to the fish, the national food of the greater part of Bengal—“ so that he may pursue 
his object with greater determination.” 

The jaunty, well dressed Indian Muhammadan of the modern type, with the reins in his mouth 
and using a whip in both hands! is last of all, “ doing his best to keep pace with the rest, but his steed 
is such a sorry jade, that he is in imminent danger of being left far behind.” This signifies that his 
means towards an end—his education—are sadly defective, and unfitted for the existing condition of 
things in the world around him. Brighter days are, we feel convinced, in store for our Moslem fellow 
subjects in India, and it is a most gratifying sign of the times, to find that, all over the Empire in 
the various Muhammadan communities, a great educational revival is steadily at work, and we maintain 
that this is mainly due to the noble efforts and example of Syed Ahmed, “ A True Reformer,”— 
Plate XVII of this collection. 



Plate No. XV. 


































PLATE XV. 


“ REBELLION HAD BAD LUCK.” 

With Mr. (Oudh) Punch’s Apologies to Mr. Tenniel. 

(The Oudh Punch, 31 st May 1881.) 

This is an adaptation of the cartoon, which appeared in Punch, 16 th December 1865, representing 
John Bull at a half open door, ejecting a Fenian from a house he had attempted to enter. 

In the present case, John Bull (Director of Public Instruction Bengal), expelling an Indian 
lad from the threshold of a house (Seebpore Technical College), says to himself, “ This is a good 
riddance of bad rubbish”* The incident which prompted this picture, was one which gave rise to an 
immense amount of popular excitement in Bengal, and in fact all over India, and may be summarised 
as follows:— 

In 1879-80 the Government of Bengal, established at Seebpore, a suburb of Calcutta, a technical 
training school, in connection with the Government Workshop, which had some time previously been 
transferred from Calcutta to the same place. At this Institution, many lads of European, Mixed, or 
Indian parentage, receive a practical training in different mechanic arts under a system of apprentice¬ 
ship, with scholarships or subsistence allowances for their support from Government, supplemented 
by fees from their parents, and many lads are thus fitted, after passing periodical examinations, for 
various appointments in the Department of Public Works or with private engineering firms. 
This technical school, is near the building well known as Bishop’s College,! which has been given up 
for the class rooms, dining hall and chapel, dwellings &c. of part of the students, many of whom come 
from different parts of India. 

To ensure as far as possible the success of the institution, Government selected as head of the 
technical training school or workshop, an officer who had previously held charge of a somewhat similar 
establishment in another part of Bengal, and who, although he had retired from the service on a pension, 
was asked to rejoin, as Government considered that on public grounds, it was most important 
that the new School (at Seebpore) should be started under.an officer so eminently fitted for the work. 

One day towards the end of April last, an Indian student who was working in the carpenters’ 
shop left his bench without orders, and going to the fitters’ shop, where he had no right to be, proceeded 
to punch a hole in a piece of iron at one of the machines, the iron was too thick for the machine, and 
the die was consequently broken, and some work stopped for several days. When the matter was 
reported to the Superintendent, he sent for the student and asked him what he meant by being “ such 
an idiot” or “ such a fool” as to meddle with a machine he knew nothing about. At this time the 
Superintendent was under the impression that the student w r as working in the fitter’s shop, on learning 
that he belonged to the carpenter’s shop, he followed him thither, took him by the arm or 
the shoulder, and brought him back to the fitter’s shop, a few paces distant, where, pointing to 
the broken machine, he warned him emphatically, in the presence of the other students never to touch 
it again without orders and not to leave his proper work, at the same time striking the bench with a 
walking stick he carried with him. 

A few days afterwards, eighty-seven of the Indian students, sent in a joint petition to the Director 
of Public Instruction Bengal, complaining of the conduct of the officer in charge, in assaulting and using 
violent language to one of their number and praying to be relieved of his authority. 

The Director of Public Instruction characterised this memorial as a sorry exhibition of childish 
petulance and presumption, and further said that :— 

* We adopt this as the equivalent of the Persian proverb, Khus kam j&han pak, (lit: the fewer the weeds, the cleaner the 
surface of the ground) used when hearing of the death of a wicked or oppressive person. 

f So called after the first Bishop of the Diocese of Calcutta, Dr. Middleton (1814-1822) who, on the 15th December 
1820, had the satisfaction of laying with his own hands the foundation stone of this College/an institution which has proved of 
great’value in training up candidates for Missionary work in India. 






This case was productive of so much popular excitement, chiefly of course in Bengal, that we 
have thought it best to quote in extenso from the papers concerning it, which were all published in 
a Supplement to g:i)e €alctttta 22nd June 1881. The Oudh Punch took the part of the stu¬ 

dents to some extent, but appears to have derived its facts from those “ native papers which injudici¬ 
ously did their best to encourage the students to disregard all true discipline however it was per¬ 
haps only natural that it should do so, as the English papers of the day, do not appear to have done 
much towards enabling the Public generally, to arrive at the exact facts and circumstances attending 
this memorable episode. 






















PLATE XVI. 


•• WHEN GREEK MEETS GREEK THEN COMES THE TUG OF WAR.” 

(The Oudh Punch, 21 st June 1881.) 

In various parts of India, and at different times, serious disturbances have arisen, in some cases 
accompained by a lamentable loss of life, originating in disputes between Hindus and Indian Moslems. 
In some cases the Hindus have provoked the quarrel, at other times the Muhammadans, and out¬ 
bursts of rancorous fanaticism have always to be provided for, and are generally expected to occur on 
the occasion of some one or other of the great Hindu or Moslem religious festivals, in many of the 
larger and more turbulent cities of India. 

At other times however, these two races maintain perfectly friendly social relations with each 
other, in fact they act upon the good advice given in the proverb which forms the title to the picture, 
and which is to the effect that, it is not to the mutual interest of two fiery steeds, when living together 
in the same stable, to kick out at each other. 

The first scene introduces us to a Pandit and a Maulvf, neighbours presumably, exchanging their 
usual morning greeting. The Pandit then proceeds (2) to read out to the Maulvf, a newspaper ac¬ 
count of a disturbance that has taken place during a Moslem or Hindu festival, and we will suppose, 
makes some remark as to what he considers should be done in such cases. They begin to argue (3), 
and w T ax hotter (4) and hotter (5), eventually (6) meeting the fate of the Kilkenny cats. 



Plate No. XVII 
































































































































































































P L A T E XVII. 


A TRUE REFORMER. 

(The Oudh Punch, 4 th August 1881) 

This cartoon represents Syed Ahmed, Khan Bahadur, C. S. I. the great Indian Muhamma¬ 
dan Reformer, in the habit of a snake charmer. He is playing upon a ''‘tonbi” # on which is inscribed, 
Hdji Muhammad Ismail Khan, the name of a well known landed proprietor of Datauli in the Ali¬ 
garh District, t Snakes, with the word “ chundah” (subscriptions) on their hoods, and with their 
scales so drawn as to represent rupees, are flocking round from all sides, attracted by the music. 

Syed Ahmed will in after ages be remembered and reverenced with those other great ones, in 
various Climes and of many different Faiths, who have devoted their lives and gifts to the moral and 
material advancement of their Fellows; and he has already, by his untiring energy and varied talents, 
brought about results, which not very many years ago would have been deemed impossible. Long ago 
he recognized the stern fact that, if the Muhammadans in India were to keep pace with the world 
around them, and take such a position among their fellows of other creeds, as would give full scope 
to their great natural powers and abilities, it behooved them among other things, to adopt Western 
ideas concerning the system of education best fitted to equip them now-a-days for the severe battle of 
life. 


Like many others of his own and other creeds, he had been deeply grieved to see, year after 
year, members of old Moslem families, whose Ancestors had taken leading parts in events which have 
shapen the whole destiny of the East to an immeasurable degree, lag behind in the race of life, their 
children allowed to grow up, in some cases only imperfectly educated, and in others, without any edu¬ 
cation at all; and as a natural consequence sinking lower in each successive generation. One reason 
among many, urged for this apathy being that they, the parents, were loath to send their children to 
Institutions such as Government Schools or Colleges where of course, only a purely secular education 
can be obtained, and where religious instruction, an essential part of the Moslem educational system 
is impossible. 

He himself by his personal example, powerful writings and indomitable zeal, did what he could 
to bring about a reform in this, and other directions, and naturally met with opposition in different 
forms, and from various quarters. Nevertheless, he persevered nobly, never however loosing sight of 
the fact that, however powerful his personal influence might be so long as he lived, still if, when in the 
inevitable course of events he was summoned hence, there was no one ready to take up his work, all 
the good he might have been able to do would inevitably perish. 

In order therefore, to provide against such a contingency as far as he was able, Syed Ahmed de¬ 
termined to found an Anglo-Muhammadan College, in some accessible, central place in Northern India, 
where the youthful Moslem students, would be duly instructed in the moral precepts of the Holy Quran, 
and the other sacred books of Islam, as well as in the science of the West and the East. His project 
was warmly and liberally supported throughout the length and breath of India, by Christian, Hindu, 
Moslem, and Fire worshipper—one Hindu Prince contributing Rs. 53,000—and at length, on the 7th 
January 1877, the foundation stone of the College at Aligarh, the first of its kind in India, was laid 
with due and impressive ceremony by Lord Lytton, assisted by a remarkable gathering of men of 


* A wind instrument made out of a species of ground, dried; used by snake charmers and professional beggars, and emits 
a sound not unlike that of the bagpipes. 

t This gentleman took a prominent part in getting up a testimonial to mark the sense of deep obligation, towards Syed 
Ahmed, under which the Moslems of Upper India were placed by his efforts to improve their condition and prospects. Muhammad 
Ismail Khan also proposed, that whatever was done should, if possible be carried out during the life time of their benefactor, and 
that Syed Ahmed should also be consulted as regards his wishes in the matter. A large sum of money was collected, and Syed 
Ahmed asked that it might be devoted towards erecting a boarding house, as a dwelling for those students who might come from 
a distance to attend the Anglo-Muhammadan College at Aligarh. 





many different climes and creeds, the eldest son of the founder * taking a prominent part in the 
ceremony. The College has now been fully opened for some years, and already its influence is being 
felt in various ways, and all earnestly hope that its patriotic Founder may long be spared to watch 
over and direct it. 


* Syed Ahmed, is the author of the well know, Review on Dr. Hunter's Indian Musalmans, are they hound in conscience to 
rebel against the Queen ? Benares, printed at the Medical Hall Press, 1872. A learned refutation of the arguments advanced, and 
statement of facts made, by Dr. W. W. Hunter. The appendices to this book are particularly valuable, containing as they do 
the decisions (Futwa) of the Mecca law Doctors (Muftis) the heads of the three great Muhammadan sects, on the very intricate, 
but politically highly important question, of what constitutes a country Dar-ul-Isldm (House or home of Islam) or Dar-ul-Harb 
(House of strife, or unfriendly to Islam) and also defines the nature of Jihad (War in defence of the Faith). 

Among his other works is, A series of essays on the life of Muhammad and subjects subsidiary thereto (Arabic title). The 
original English text of these essays has been revised and corrected by a Friend. (Arabic quotation) By Syed Ahmed Khan Bahadur, 
C.S. I., Author of the “Muhammadan Commentary on the Holy Bible," Honorary Member of the Royal Asiatic Society, and Life 
Honorary Secretary to the Allygurh Scientific Society. (Monogram) London, Triibner & Co., 8 and 60, Paternoster Row, 18/0. 1 his 
exhaustive work, in 2 vols. 8 vo. was undertaken in a great measure to correct some of the many errors which previous authors of 
various countries have fallen into, chiefly from a want of authentic material and by copying the errors and rash statements made 
by former workers, when treating of the Moslem Religious system, or its Holy Book. 

Syed Ahmed has also written many Newspaper and Magazine articles on subjects allied to his life’s labour, besides found¬ 
ing a news-paper, The Aligarh Institute Gazette, in printed Urdu, which may be looked upon as the organ of the party of Indo- 
Moslem progress. He held for many years several high judicial appointments in the Upper Provinces, has now retired on a 
pension, and resided for some considerable time in England, where his eldest son, Syed Muhammad Mahmoud was educated, at 
Christ’s College, Cambridge. This gentleman who eventually became a member of the English bar (Lincoln’s Inn) practised 
for sometime as a Barrister in the North-Western Provinces, and on the separation of the district judicial and executive staff in 
Oudh, and subsequent creation of several new appointments, was nominated a District Judge, 3rd grade, but is at present on 
deputation in the Nizam’s territory, engaged upon the revision of the judicial system in force there. 


























































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Plate No. XYIII 









































































































































































































































































































































































































































PLATE XVIII. 


EMBARKED UPON A SEA OF TROUBLES, 

With Mr. (Oudh) Punch’s apologies to “ Fun .” 

(The Oudh Punch, 13th September 1881.) 

This picture is an adaptation from the cartoon, which appeared in Fun, 17 th August 1881, with 
the title “ Nearing Home—The last spurt,” representing Mr. Gladstone pulling hard to bring his boat 
(Land Bill) through a clump of obstacles of various kinds. The fair maid Ireland, is in the stern 
sheets, but the tiller ropes are loose in her hand and she does not help to steer. 

In this adaptation, the Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, is depicted in place of Mr. Gladstone, and 
a Kabuli maiden, dressed in her national costume, takes the place of her Western sister. 

In August last, Ayub Khan, having defeated the Amir’s troops at Karez-i-Atta (27th July 1881), 
■and- became master of the city of Kandahar,^was doing his best to extend his power throughout 
the surrounding districts of Southern Afghanistan, raise money to pay his troops, and prepare for an 
advance on the city of Kabul. The Amir Abdur Rahman Khan, was still at his Capital, but 
busily occupied with preparations for an advance on Kandahar, and on the 14th August he set out 
from Kabul at the head of his troops. This illustration was designed when definite news had reached 
India of the Amir’s having set out, and the general opinion of the Indian vernacular Press appears 
to have been, that Abdur Rahman seemed somewhat disinclined to advance from Kabul, that it 
behooved him to do so promptly, but that once having started, he would eventually be successful. 

The legend at the bottom of the picture, represents the Amir as repeating to himself, a Persian 
couplet to this effect—•“ I have now embarked my fortunes upon a stormy sea with no visible shore, 
may He who created the storm, grant that I may again reach the land in safety.” 












































































































































PLATE XIX. 


A BURNING QUESTION. 

(The Oudh Punch, 15 th November 1881). 

This picture represents a cow (with the head and ears of an ass) in a parlous state, between two 
parties of men. At its head a group of Muhammadan butchers are endeavouring to drag away the 
animal, labelled with the arabic word for “ prejudice,” or “religious intolerance,” while a party of 
Hindu’s of various sects, are holding it back by the tail, and endeavouring to rescue the animal from 
its—in their eyes—cruel fate. “ Shauq” has in this cartoon, depicted very cleverly the general typical 
features and dress of Moslem butchers, and the characteristic cast of feature of Brahmins, Sikhs and 
others among the opposite party. 

In will be seen from the above, that The Oudh Punch has treated “ the question of cowslaughter,” 
for so runs the legend below the drawing, as being one of prejudice or religious intolerance on the 
part of the Hindus, but this, so far as we can judge after a careful perusal of a vast amount of literature 
on the subject, often very contradictory, is not quite the conclusion we have arrived at, frankly admit¬ 
ting however, that it is perhaps impossible for any one, not a Hindu, thoroughly to understand or 
appreciate the question in all its bearings. 

It appears to us to be quite natural, and in every way expedient that the cow should be a vene¬ 
rated and prized animal among the Hindus, * originally a pastoral race, and subsisting as far as ani¬ 
mal food was concerned, upon cow and buffalo milk and their products. With herds necessarily limit¬ 
ed in extent, during their southern migration across the snow of the Himalaya towards the land of 
the “ Seven Rivers” which has since become their home ; and there subject to constant loss by the 
ravages of wild animals, or plunder by the aboriginal tribes they encountered in the land of their choice, 
it is probable that the Founders of their religious and social system, early saw the absolute and impera¬ 
tive necessity that existed, of prohibiting the slaughter of bulls or cows for mere food. They would 
also soon find out that the climate of their new home was unsuited for a flesh diet. 

What was therefore probably at first a purely material ordinance, and one of expediency, be¬ 
came in progress of time to be regarded—as it remains to the present day—a divine command. In cer¬ 
tain Independent Hindu States in India, the slaughter of cows is still absolutely prohibited by law, 
and not many years ago, the violation of such a prohibition was punished by the Rulers of these States, 
by death, accompanied by cruel torture. 

In British India there are many wise and considerate regulations in force, under which the call¬ 
ing of the butcher in all its various details, is controlled, and has to be exercised in such ways as will 
give the least possible cause of offence to those among our fellow subjects who have conscientious 
scruples regarding the use of the flesh of the cow as food. 

We need not give a detailed reference to certain lamentable occurrences, which are matters of 
recent History, and which resulted in a serious loss of human life, all arising more or less directly from 
this “ burning question.” We must also be careful to bear in mind, that the deep feeling on this question 
is one, not exhibited merely by the “ baser sort,”—far from it. Not many years ago, a leading Pun¬ 
jab Chief, whose ancestors for generations past have been firm and steadfast supporters of the British 
in India, when a member of the Governor-General’s Council, desired to introduce a Bill which he had 
drafted, to prohibit in all parts of British India the use of beef as an article of food. And within the 
last few months a Hindu gentleman of rank, well known in the Upper Provinces, and who held for 
years one of the highest appointments in the Educational Department of the North-Western Provinces is 


* We use this word throughout this notice to signity the members of those castes (Brahman, Kshatriyas and some of the 
Yaisyas) descendants of the Aryans, who have for the most part preserved their purity of blood ; there are of course many low- 
caste Hindus, who do not scruple to use the flesh of cows as food. 




believed to have made serious preparations for undertaking a journey to England, as the head of a 
deputation of Hindus from the Holy City of Benares, with the object of petitioning Parliament to 
pass a law prohibiting the killing of cows all over British India. The expenses of this deputation, and 
they would have been considerable, were undertaken by an Indian Noble, the lineal descendant of a 
daughter of that Balwant Singh, whose name is doubtless familiar to many in connection with Lord 
Clive and the early establishment of British rule in India. 


















Plate No. XX 


















































































































































































PLATE XX. 


“HE THAT WILL NOT WHEN HE MAY.” 

(The Oudh Punch. 29 th November 1881). 

The peasant farmer of Oudh, represented by a clumsy, apathetic country lout, his eyes blinded 
to what the world around him is doing, and content to use old, and in some respects inefficient 
implements, is being roused up to greater activity by the Local Government on one side and the Oudh 
Talukdars’ (landholders) Association on the other. They say to him, “ Wake up ! arise ! have you 
not yet heard of the coming Exhibition \ ”; alluding to the Exhibition, of Agricultural Products and 
Implements, and Arts and Manufactures, now being held in Lucknow. 

Although Agricultural Reform in India is still in its infancy—it was only heartily taken up in 
1871—and since then has also suffered some momentary checks—vast strides towards improvement in 
this and other oeconomics are being made every year in various parts of India, and it is to be 
earnestly hoped that our Rulers—perhaps more favoured than those of any other country in the world, 
a fertile soil and nine tenths of it (excluding Lower Bengal) so far the property of the State, that it 
can, and does, levy a full rent from all of it, with power to raise this when the land can bear it—will 
never relax their endeavours to clevelope to the utmost, and in every direction, the great heritage, 
bequeathed to them with such solemnly binding obligations and responsibilities to administer its affairs 
aright, and for the good of all the vast population under them. 

We ourselves consider that Mr. (Oudh) Punch, has somewhat, but perhaps wisely after all, over 
drawn the picture, and one who is eminently able to write with authority, has said * “It is due to the 
patient, frugal, and not unintelligent husbandmen of India to admit freely that, looking to the con¬ 
ditions under which they labour, then- ignorance of scientific method and their want of capital, (and 
all that capital enables a farmer to command) the crops that they do produce are on the whole 
surprising. 

So far as rule-of-thumb goes, the experience of 3,000 years has not been wholly wasted. They 
know to a day when it is best (if only meteorological conditions permit) to sow each staple, and each 
variety of each staple that is grown in their neighbourhood; they know the evils of banks and hedges, 
dwarfing the crops on either side and harbouring vermin, and will have none of them; they 
accurately distinguish every variety of soil, and, so far as the crops they grow are concerned, the vary¬ 
ing properties and capacities of each; they fully realize the value (though they can command but 
little) of ordinary manure, ashes and the like, and recognize which are most required by which kinds 
of crops; they know the advantages of ploughing, in most cases as deep as their imperfect implements 
and feeble teams wall permit, and of thoroughly pulverizing the soil, and they also recognize where, 
with a scanty or no supply of manure, it would be folly to break the shallow-lying pan. As for weeds, 
their wheat fields would in this respect shame ninety-nine hundredths of those in Europe. You may 
stand on some high old barrow like village site in Upper India, and look down on all sides on one wide 
sea of waving wheat broken only by dark green islands of mango groves—many, many squaie miles of 
wheat and not a weed or blade of grass above six inches in height to be found amongst it. What is 
to be spied out creeping here and there on the ground is only the growth of the last few weeks since 
the corn grew too high and thick to permit the woman and children to continue weeding. They 
know when to feed down a too forward crop, they know the benefit of, and practise so far as circum¬ 
stances and poverty permit, a rotation of crops. They are great adepts in storing grain, and will 
turn it out of rough earthen pits after twenty years, absolutely uninjured. They know the exact 
state of ripeness to which gram should be allowed to stand in diffeient seasons, in othei words under 
different meteorological conditions, to ensure its heepiny when thus stoied , and equally the length of 


* See pao-e 4, et seq: of, Hints on Agricultural Reform in India. By Allen Hume. Calcutta. Central Press Company “ Ld.” 
1869. A pamphlet first written and printed for private circulation in England, by one who was for some years Secretary to the 
Government of India in the (late) Department of Revenue, Agriculture and Commerce. 





time that, under varying atmospheric conditions, it should be upon the open threshing floor to secure 
the same object. 

Imperfect appliances, superstition, money troubles, and the usurer’s impatience, often prevent 
their practising what they do know, but so far as what may be called non-scientific agriculture is 
concerned, there is little to teach them, and certainly very few European farmers could, fettered by 
the same conditions as our ryots, produce better if as good crops. 

On the other hand, we must not over-rate their knowledge; it is wholly empirical, and is in 
many parts of the country, if not everywhere, greatly limited in its application by tradition and 
superstition. Innumerable quaint complets, to which a certain reverence is attached, deal with agri¬ 
cultural matters. These in Upper India, at any rate, are true “ household words” amongst all tillers 
of the soil. These govern their actions to a great extent, and often lead them wrong against their 
better judgment. They take omens of all kinds to guide their choice of crops and other operations 
of husbandry, and though some few of the more intelligent only act upon the results of these divina¬ 
tions when they coincide with their own views, the masses are blindly guided by them. 

So then it is not only external disadvantages against which the Indian cultivator has to contend, 
it is not only that his knowledge is still in the primary experience stage, but that even this knowledge 
is often rendered of no avail by the traditions of an immemorial religion of agriculture. 

It is necessary to realize this (of which few Europeans ever even hear) as it is one great practi¬ 
cal difficulty against which agricultural reform in India will have to contend.” 


POSTFACE 


“ The history and the philosophy of antiquity are invaluable, and could ill be spared : but 
its poetry is what makes the ancient world near of kin to us, and is that by which we feel that the 
men of old were bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh. The poetry of a race is what redeems 
it from perishing as a race, and immortalizes not only the individual poet, but the men who first 
loved his song, and were gladdened by it. This is what binds together the hearts of the ancient 
and modern worlds.” 

Saturday Review. 


On the 14th March 1608, two ships and a pinnace, left the Thames for Aden and Surat; and they 
formed the fleet sent out, on their fourth venture or voyage, by the Governor and Committee of the 
Company of Merchant’s trading to the East Indies. In a commercial point of view, this venture was 
unsuccessful, but it was the means of enriching English literature with one of the most interesting and 
fascinating book of travels in our language. A book, which meeting the fate of many other popular 
works, has been read and thumbed and pulled to pieces out of existence, and although it went through 
three editions in a short time, very few copies of any of these editions are known to exist at the present 
day. * 

Now we hope that this collection may also lay claim,—sed longo intervallo—to a modest discovery, 
not of a great and mighty Mogul Emperor or of strange new countries, but we trust, of an interesting 
Indian publication, an enterprising Indo-Moslem Editor and Publisher, and a talented, self-taught, 


* The book we refer to is an account of the voyage of the “ Ascension” (260 Tons) the flag ship of the “ General of the 
voyage,”—or as we would now call him, Admiral—Alexander Sharpey, who by the way was engaged at £ 10 per month, and 
100 Marks for his provision at sea, and he also offered to adventure £ 200, in the general Stock (see Calendar of State papers, 
East Indies 1513-1616. Court Minutes of the E. I. Company, December 3rd-16th. 1607, et seq). 

The title is as follows, we quote from a copy of the 3rd edition now before us (the 1st edition was issued in 1612, and 

the 2nd in 1614). 

A | T R V E AND | ALMOST I N C R E- | DIBLE Report of an Englishman that | (being cast away in the good ship 
called | the Assention in Cambaya, the farthest part of ( the East Indies) trauelled by Land thorow | many unknown? Kingdomes and 
great Cities. | With a particular Description of all | those Kingdomes, Cities, and People : | as also, | A Relaution of their commodities 
and manner of | Traffique, and at what seasons of the yeere | they are most in use. Fayth- | fully related: | WITH A 
DISCOVERY OF A GREAT! Emperour called the great Mogull, a Prince | not till now knowne to our Eng- | lish 

nation. By Captaine Robert Couert. | LONDON, | Printed by I. N. for Hugh Perry, and are to bee | sold at his shop, at the 

signe of the Harrow | in Brittaines-Bvrse , 1631. 

Captain Covert was one of the Chief Officers on board the Ascension and after the vessel was wrecked on a shoal at the 
entrance to the Eb, or lb, River, (about 40 miles south of Surat) he, with the rest of the ship’s company some 78 souls in all, 
found their way in the boats, after two days sailing, to the land at “ Gadavee” (Gandavi). At this place they were hospitably 
treated by the Governor, who sent them on their way to Surat, which place they reached in two days, and remained there 
for some time, in the company of several other English Merchants. Here the party from the Ascension broke up, Covert with a 
few others travelled to Agra, vid “Nawbon” (Nundurbar), “Bramport” (Burhanpur) “ Caddor” (Khundwa), “ Cannowe” 
(Sinhur) &c. &c. 

They arrived at Agra on the 8th December 1609, were received by Captain Hawkins (he had arrived in India as Commander 
of the Hector, by the previous venture, which left England on the 16th of April, 1607), who presented them to the Emperor J4h4ngir, 

“a<s it tjs tlje tuMonte anb manner of tlje (lountrg. /or no stranger must Stan abooe tmentg fonre Ijoures, before Ije be brought 
before tfjc king, to knoro mljat Ijee is, nub therefore Ijce commetlj. Also coerg stranger mnst present tlje king roitlj some present 
bee it neoer so small, mljtclj Ijee mill not refuse. Anl> I gane Ijim for a present, a small mlflstle of gotb, maigljtng almost an 
ounce, set voitlj sparks of Jlnbies, mljitlj Ijee tooke anb roljijsteleb tljeremitlj almost ait Ijoure. Also I gane Ijim tlje picture of 
jeaint Johns ijeab cut in Amber anb @olb, ml)id] Ijec also reccineb ocrn graciously 

Stye mljistle l]ee gane to one of l)is great morncn, attb tlje picture to Sultane Caroone Ijis goungest somte. fjis elbest son 
rebelleb, anb is in prison mitl] l]is cies Sealeb up, anb it is nngseb amongst tl)e common people ttjat l]is eges are put out, but it 
mas tolb mce bg a great man, tljat tljeg are but sealeb up. His name is Patteshaw Shelham, mljtclj in our language is Ijeire 
apparant to tlje dlromne.” 

“One of his great women” may have been Nur .Talifin. “Sultane Caroone” was Prince Khurram, who afterwards 
succeeded his Father as the Emperor, Shah Jaluin. “ Pattesha Shelham ” was Prince Khusrou who rebelled against his father 
in 1606, was defeated in battle near Lahore, afterwards imprisoned by his father, and eventually-died after a series of years of 
indignity, in 1621. 

On the 22nd of January 1609-10, they left Agra, and travelling by Jesulmir, Sukkur, Dadur,—the Bolan Pass—Kandahar, 
Ispahan, Bagdad, Aleppo and Tripoli, where they embarked in an English ship The Great Exchange of London, and eventually 
reached Dover about the end of April 1611. These travels have been reprinted, more or less correctly, in certain Collections of 
Voyages ; but we advise all those who wish thoroughly to enjoy the rich flavour of this book, which contains a vast amount of 
valuable Historical and Topographical information, to read it in some one or other of the original ^Black letter editions. 



( ii ) 


Hindu Artist. We could have descanted at greater length on many of the plates, and drawn attention 
to various subtle “ touches of nature” in them, which would do no discredit to many an Artist, with a 
time honored and classical name and reputation in Western lands. But we have refrained from doing 
so, as we desired to be as brief as possible, and also leave many characteristic features to be discover¬ 
ed by those who have been tempted to examine the collection. 

Until within the last few weeks, we never had the pleasure of being personally acquainted with 
Mr. (Oudh) Punch, although we had subscribed to his paper regularly for some time past, and it was 
entirely at our suggestion that the present volume was prepared for publication; our contribution 
towards it being in recognition of the amusement and interesting information, we have from time 
to time derived from its pages and pictures. 

We honestly believe that it is impossible to overrate the importance of any paper like The 
Oudh Punch , provided of course, that it is decorously, honestly, and independently conducted, without 
fear or favour to any one high or low, Briton or Indian. What for instance would the Political and 
Social life of Britain be without “Punch”? one of the very few existing English weekly papers, that 
will be consulted or referred to, 300 years hence. And has not popular satire, pictorial or written, 
been for ever with ourselves, the people’s weapon for indicating their thoughts, their wishes, the 
wrongs, real or imaginary under which they suffer ? It is a most difficult task for our Rulers in India 
to find out what the ruled think of them and their measures, and we should welcome every means 
of becoming acquainted with the wants and aspirations of the people around us, and develop every 
attempt towards establishing a healthy public opinion, as much as possible. 

The great cry in this country now-a-days is, that there are so few careers open to its educated 
youth, we believe that there is no lack, and hope to be able at another time to support our assertion 
perhaps a rash one —by facts and figures, which our pessimist friends may analyze, or twist—or 
construe — if they like, as far as they may be able. 

The Agricultural Show and Arts Exhibition, now being held in our midst, will it is hoped, con¬ 
vince many, that the clever and industrious Indian Craftsman is capable of yet again making his hand 
felt throughout all Lands, as he did ages ago, and the signs of the time, as we read them, all tend to 
show that a great and permanent Indian Renaissance is slowly, but surely, setting in, and above all in 
the Agricultural ceconomics of this country. Such being the case, a concurrent advance in its Arts and 
Manufactures must follow, and keep pace with the increased spending power of the Nation, and every 
effort ought to be made in Local Centres by Englishman and Indian alike, to foster and encourage 
such a Revival, adhering strictly, in all that is attempted to be done, to the unalterable principles of 
Free and Fair Trade. 

-oo—-- 

As regards information on the subject of Indian folk-lore and popular literature, we hope the 
following list, avowedly imperfect though it be, will prove of assistance to those who may be tempted 
to pursue the study, and serve to indicate to them several, generally accessible sources of information. 

THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY. Edited by Jas. Burgess LL.D., M.R.A.S., &c. &c., Archaeological Surveyor 
and Reporter to Government, Western India. Bombay. Education Society’s Press, Byculla. The first No. of this 
monthly publication appeared in January 1872 and it has steadily increased in circulation ever since ; we give below in 
detail a few of the leading contributions on Indian Folk-lore which have appeared to date, in this Journal, which is 
the only one of its kind in India. 

VOL. I.—1872. 

THE INDIGENOUS LITERATURE OF ORISSA. John Beames. B. C. S. Pp. 79 and 80. An eloquent 
protest against a prevailing opinion that the Modem Indian Vernaculars are mere “jargons,” appeals to scholars to find 
out what books exist in the various languages, to have them read, with a view to deciding which are worth preserving 
by editing and printing, and concludes with a list of 82 ancient Oriya works known to be in existence. 

TAMIL POPULAR POETRY. R. C. CALDWELL, M.R.A.S., Pp. 97— 103 and 197—201. Preliminary dis¬ 
sertation on Tamil poetry which “I hold — and I trust I shall be able to convince the reader that I am right in holding— 
that Tamil popular poetry contains gems of Art of which any European language might be proud” Then follow seve¬ 
ral poems in Romanized Tamil with parallel English translations. 




( iii ) 


See particularly (page 199) a notice of the Tamil Poetess, Auviyar, with translations of her poems. One of 
them the Attisudi was pronounced “ worthy of Seneca himself” by Father Beschi S.J., (landed in India 1703 died, on 
the Coromandel Coast, 1740) who has been styled” “incomparably the greatest linguist who ever made India his home” 
see a notice of his life and works by R. C. Caldwell the “ Athenaeum” of 5th December 1874. 

BENGALI FOLK-LORE. G. H. Damant B. C. S. Pp. 115—120 ; 170—172; 212—219 ; 285—286 ; and 
344—345. 

OUDH FOLK-LORE. A Legend of Balrampur. W. C. Benett, B. C. S. Page 143. 

FOLK-LORE OF ORISSA. John Beames, B. S. C. Pp. 168—170; 211—212. 

NOTES ON THE RASAKALLOLA, an Ancient Oriya poem. John Beames B. S. C. 

“ The Rasakallola or Waves of Delight” is the most popular poem in Orissa. Its songs are sung by the 
peasantry in every part of the Country, many of its lines have passed into proverbs, and have become “ household 
words,” with all classes. It owes this great popularity in some measure to its comparative freedom from long Sanskirt 
words, being for the most part, except when the poet soars into a higher style, written in the purest and simplest Oriya 
vernacular.” 

Pp. 215—217 and 292—295. 

THE LADY AND THE DOVE, a Bengali song composed by a Hindu female, transliterated and 
TRANSLATED INTO VERSE. THE ReVD. J. MURRAY MlTCHELL, LL.D. Pp. 367—369. 

Taken from a collection, of Bengali compositions in prose and verse, selected from several sent in by competitors 
for the Hare prize, which has for its object the production of works in Bengali fitted for the instruction of Indian women, 

Here we beg to draw attention to those deeply interesting books, A sheaf gleaned in French Fields, by Torn 
Dutt. London. C. Kegan Paul and Co. 1880, translations in English by a Bengali lady from various French poems, 
prefaced by a Memori of the authoress who died on the 30th August 1877, by her Father Govin Chunder Dutt; and, 
Le journal de Mile : D. 1 A: vers, nouvelle ecrite en Francais par TorA Dutt. * * Paris. Didier et Cie : 1879.” 

We earnestly hope that many other Indian ladies may be found in the course of time, doing for their own vernacular- 
literature, what their talented fellow-country woman has done for that of other countries. 

VOL. II.—1873. 

BENGALI FOLK-LORE. G. H. Damant. B. S. C. Pp. 271; 857—360. 

VOL. III.—1874. 

BENGALI FOLK-LORE. G. H. Damant B. C. S. Pp. 9—12; 320—321; 342—343. (Stories from 

VOL. IV.—1875. 

SANTALI FOLK-LORE AND RIDDLES. The Revd. F. T. Cole. Pp. 10—12; 257—264 ; 

Riddles p. 164. A collection in Romanized Santali, with translations in English. 

SPECIMENS OF THE WEDDING SONGS OF THE MUNDA-KOLHS, from the German, of Jellinghaus, 
by the Revd. Murray Mitchell, LL. D. Pp. 51—54. 

VOL. V.—1876. 

THE WASHERMAN VIRASENA : A Lingayta Legend. The Revd F. Kittel. Merkara. Pp. 183—187. 

LEGENDS AND NOTES ON CUSTOMS. The Revd. John Cain Dumagudem. Pp. 183—187. The legends 
and customs are some of those of the Krishna District in Southern India. 

SILPA SASTRA. The Revd. J. F. Kearns, Missionary S. P. G. Tanjore. Pp. 230—237; 293—297. 
A detailed account with translations, of a Tamil treatise on Architecture, and the art of masonry and carpentry, said 
to have been originally written in Sanskrit by one Myen, a son of Brahma, and reputed Architect to the Gods. Full 
of very curious and practical information on the various useful arts it treats on. The section devoted to carpentry 
contains minute instructions for felling trees, and the proper timber to use for various purposes. If the directions regard¬ 
ing lime making and building generally, contained in this treatise were followed in their integrity at the present day, 
we would hear of fewer badly built houses, leaking roofs &c. &c. 

THE RIGHT HAND AND THE LEFT HAND CASTES. A letter by the Revd, J. F. Kearns 
Missionary S. P. G. Tanjore. Pp. 353—354. 


( iv ) 


A SORCERER’S PUNISHMENT. H. J. Stokes. M. A. A weaver in the Krishna District, suspected of practising 
black arts, was way-laid and caught by a party of men, who taking up a stone as large as a man’s fist, struck his upper 
and lower teeth until they loosened nine teeth—four incisors and one canine from the lower jaw and four incisors from 
the upper—which they then pulled out with pincers, and rubbing some of the juice of a species of Euphorbia on the 
bleeding guns, they left him on the ground. 

VOL. VI.—1877. 

THE STORY OF KHAMBA AND THOIBI : A Manipuri Tale. Translated by G. H. Damant 
B. C. S. Officiating Political Agent, Manipur. Pp. 219—226. 

NOTES ON THE LAX OBSERVANCE OF CASTE RULES, and other features of social and 
religious in Ancient India. John Muir, D.C.L., LL.D., Ph. D., Edinburgh, Pp. 251—264. 

PARSI FUNERAL AND INITIATORY RITES, and the Parsi religion. Professor Monier Williams, 
D.C.L. Pp. 311—315. 

YOL. VII.—1878. 

SANTHAL IDEAS OF THE FUTURE. The Revd. F. J. Cole. Pp. 273—274. 

YOL. VIII.—1879. 

A FOLK-LORE PARALLEL. Professor C. H. Tawney, M. A. Pp. 37 and 38. Compares an incident 
in the Norwegian story of the Widow’s son, a tale found in Thorpe’s Yule tide stories, with a similar one in the Sanskrit 
story of Prince Sringabhuja. See on Page 288, an article in which Mr. Geo : A. Grierson B. c. s., draws attention to a 
similar story in Carleton’s Traits of the Irish Peasantry, Yol. I. Page 23. And also, Page 230 where Mr. Tawney 
announces his having discovered a Sicilian version of the principal incident in the story of Prince Sringabhuja. 

THE WESTWARD SPREAD OF SOME INDIAN METAPHORS AND MYTHS. M. J. Walhouse late 
M.C.S., Pp. 162—164. 

NOTES ON INDIAN FOLK-LORE. Professor Monier Williams, D.C.S. Pp. 209—211. 

YOL. IX.—1880. 

BENGALI FOLK-LORE, Legends from Dinajpur. G. H. Damant B. C. S. Pp. 1—8. 

FOLK-LORE SCRAPS FROM BIRBHUM. G. D. Bysack Pp. 79—80. 

FOLK-LORE IN THE PUNJAB. Lieutenant Temple B. C. S. and Mrs. F. A. Steel. Pp. 205—210 ; 
280—282; 302—304. 

BOMBAY BEGGARS AND CRIERS. K. Raghunathji. Pp. 247—250; 278—280. 

VOL. X.—1881. 

FOLK-LORE IN THE PUNJAB. Lieutenant Temple B. S. C. and Mrs. F. A. Steel. Pp. 40—43 ; 
80—82 ; 147—152 ; 228—233 ; 331—333; 

BOMBAY BEGGARS AND CRIERS. K. Raghunathji. Pp. 71—75; 145—147 ; 286—287 ; 

A. FOLK-LORE PARALLEL. Professor C. H. Tawney. Pp. 190—191. 

Shows how a Jaina story “ Tenderness to Animals” contains a remarkable parallel to an incident in the story 
of “ Rich Peter the Pedlar” in Dasent’s Norse Tales. Also see a note on the above article at Page 288 by Mr. L. Rice, 
Director of Public Instruction, Mysore. 

LETTERS WRITTEN IN A MAHRATTA CAMP DURING THE YEAR 1809, descriptive of the character, 
manners, domestic habits, and religious ceremonies, of the Mahrattas. With ten coloured engravings, from drawings by 
a Native Artist. By Thomas Duer Broughton, Esq. * * * London : Printed for John Murray, 50, Albemarle 

Street 1813. 

A most vivid picture of life in Scindia’s Camp and Court, very valuable from a historical point of view. The 
engravings were drawn and etched, by Atkinson and others, from the originals by various Native Artists, and are all 
very life-like and correct. 

SELECTIONS FROM THE POPULAR POETRY OF THE HINDOOS, arranged and translated by Thomas 
Duer Broughton Esqr., Major of the Hon’ble East India Company’s Service in Bengal; and Author of Letters from a 
Mahratta Camp. London : Printed by Whittingham and Rowland, Goswell Street; for John Martin, Holies Street, 
Cavendish Square, 1814. 

Major Broughton, who was for sometime Commandant of the Resident’s escort at the Court of Scindia, was not 
only an excellent Oriental Scholar, but a most charming and accomplished writer of English. This book has become 


( V ) 


very scarce of late years, and it is one which we beg to bring to the notice of any Indian Publisher who desires to 
reprint a collection well worthy of attention. The late Dr. Fallon, who had never heard of the book until we brought 
it to his notice, was deeply impressed with its great value and made use of it largely. We possess two copies, one of 
them, on large paper, uncut edges, and in the original binding, an exceedingly choice one. The introduction—Pp. 1-27, 
to this book is very valuable, and in it the Author states that :— 

“ It will not perhaps be deemed superfluous, to offer to my readers some account of the nature of the work presented to 
them ; and of the grounds upon which I presume to claim their forbearance and indulgence. 

It was my chance to be placed in a situation in the camp of one of the Mahratta chieftains, where I had more leisure 
hours than I knew well how to fill up; and where, being almost entirely secluded from European society, I was happy to grasp 
at any means which offered of employing that time, which though so valuable in itself, is but too often found to lie a heavy 
burden upon our hands. To converse with the natives, and to acquire in that way some knowledge of their habits and customs, 
had always been a source of amusement to me. In the situation alluded to, I had greater inducements and more opportunities to 
indulge this inclination, and as I always found the Hindoos more intelligent and communicative, more abounding in interesting 
matter, and withal much less opinionated and arrogant, than their fellow-subjects of the Muhammadan faith, it was to them I 
most commonly addressed myself. 

There is perhaps no set of men in India, better qualified to afford the kind of information I sought for, than the Sipahees 
of our own army. They include every class of Hindoos; though by far the greater proportion belong to the two higher orders 
of Brahmuns and Rajpoots. They are commonly the sons of respectable farmers, from every Province of Hindoostan, and often 
have received tolerably good educations before they quit their homes. The Brahmuns especially are generally well versed in 

the common principles and ceremonies of their religion, and the historical legends connected with it, and not seldom have 

attained to the degree of Pundit, when they enlist as soldiers in the Company’s Army. 

******** 

It is then from the verbal communications of Sipahees, and others not raised above them in the general scale of society, 
that I have collected the poems which compose this little volume ; they arc therefore strictly “ popular” and as such are offered 
to my countrymen : who will be pleased to find, (at least if I have succeeded in conveying a tolerably just idea of the originals) 
in the popular poetry of their fellow subjects of India, some breathings of the Doric muse, that would not have disgraced the 
pastoral reeds of Greece or Scotland. I have endeavoured to make the translations as close as possible ; many of them are literal, 
at least as much so as a versified, for I dare not say poetical, translation can be : and I have seldom, I believe, altered an 
expression, or ventured to add or suppress an image or a sentiment. 

******** 

In their descriptions of female charms, the images of the Hindoo poets are invariably taken from nature ; consequently are 
seldom extravagant, and they are always calculated to raise in the mind the sweet ideas of tenderness and delicacy. The Hindoo 
nymph is lovely, but her charms are never heightened by that kind of bacchanalian tint which glows in the attractions of the 
Persian beauty. With the one we sigh to repose among shady bowers, or wander by the side of cooling streams ; to weave 
chaplets of the Lotus, or the Jessamine for her hair; and even fancy ourselves enamoured of the legitimate shepherdesses of our 
pastoral poetry. With the other, we burn to share the luxurious pleasures of the banquet; to celebrate her eyes iu Anacreontic 

measures ; or toast her jetty ringlets in bowls of liquid ruby. 

******** 

If we were to indulge our fancy in pourtraying the characters of the ancient Hindoos from these specimens of their 
popular poetry how amiable would they appear ! gentle, simple in their manners, alive to strong impressions ; and peculiarly 
susceptible of the tender passion. And if due allowance be made for the difference between poetical delineation, and the fainter 
lines of real life, I do not know that the picture would be so highly coloured as not to bear some resemblance to their descendants 
of the present day ; especially when unsophisticated by an admixture of foreign manners. They still speak the language of 
poetry and love, though expressed in a dialect that is perfectly rustic. To what is this to be ascribed 1 not to the peculiar 
structure of the language itself, for it consists mostly of short expressive words composed of consonants ; and abounds more in 
monosyllables, with the exception perhaps of the Chinese, than any language with which I am acquainted. Neither can it be 
attributed to the polish of education or society ; for I have generally observed that those Hindoos express themselves most 
elegantly and metaphorically, who are born in villages most remote from large towns, aud the resorts of Europeans or Moosul- 
mans. 

* ******* 

It is not then to the structure of their language, nor to the refinements of education, that this delicacy of ideas and 
language is to be ascribed ; may we not suppose that the genial warmth of the climate, and universal luxuriance of nature, unite 
to produce a physical tenderness and susceptibility in the various organs of sense, and thus render the nerves on which they act, 
more ** tremblingly alive all o’er,” that our hardier and more rigid climate 1 ” 

A most interesting definition of the various forms of Hindee poetry is not the least valuable part of this intro¬ 
duction from which we have quoted at length, as it may be difficult for the Curious to obtain a copy of the book itself. 


( Vi ) 


A COLLECTION OF PROVERBS, AND PROVERBIAL PHRASES, in the Persian and Hindustanee 
languages. Compiled and translated, chiefly by the late Thomas Roebuck, Captain on the Madras Establishment, 
Public Examiner in the College of Fort William, and Member of the Asiatic Society. Calcutta. Printed at the Hindus¬ 
tanee Press, 1824. 

A collection of 2722 Persian, and 2704 Hindustani proverbs, with literal translations and in some cases the 
English parallel proverb. The “ Persian” proverbs are not all of them strictly speaking correct, but were evidently 
taken down from the lips of Indians who talked the debased Persian, at one time the Court and Official language of 
Hindustan. Some of the so called proverbs, partake more of the nature of idioms than proverbs, in the strict 
sense of the word. The book is however, very valuable as many of the Hindustanee proverbs quoted are now fast be¬ 
coming obsolete. 

The Newul Kishore Press, of Lucknow, publish a book of Arabic, Persian, and Hindustanee proverbs and 
colloquialisms called the Khazinahdt-ul-Imsal, or Treasury of proverbs. This collection is valuable, and contains 
a number of proverbs, which are rapidly becoming archaic. The compiler, Syed Husain Shah, whose nom de plume is 
“ Hakikat” (an Arabic word which may be translated here, In truth, it also means a self evident, or notorious thing) 
has also given a great member of idioms and colloquialisms. There is another collection of Indian Proverbs, which was 
published some years ago at Bareilly in Rohilkund, but we regret that our copy is not forthcoming at present, and we 
cannot remember the title. For other collections of Indian Proverbs see, Bengali Proverbs by the Revd. J. Long. 
Percival’s Tamil Proverbs, with translations, there is also an illustrated edition of this book, and both are published 
by Higginbotham and Co., Madras. As for Arabic proverbs from which a number of the Indian ones are derived, see 
the well known collection with translations, by Burckhardt. 

OLD DECCAN DAYS; or Hindu eairy legends, current in Southern India. Collected from oral tradition 
by M. Frere. With an introduction and notes by Sir Bartle Frere. The illustrations by C. F. Frere. London, John 
Murray, Albemarle Street 1868. 

A second edition was issued in 1870, and Mr. Murray, announces (December 1881,) that a third edition will 
shortly be published. At the end of the first edition (we have never seen the second) there are some very interest- 

ting notes, one_Note C—gives several specimens of the curious labour songs, current among the the Calicut boatmen, 

evidently of Portugese or Syrian Christian origin. 

ANCIENT AND MEDIAEVAL INDIA. By Mrs. Manning. London, W. H. Allen & Co. Publishers to 
the India Office, 1869. 2 Vols. 8vo. An amplification of Life in Ancient India, published in 1856, before the 

authoress had changed the name of Speir for that of Manning. An exceedingly useful book, intended as a stepping 
stone to other more learned and critical works, “ and supplying details required to supplement grand and comprehensive 
views”. 

MEMOIRS ON THE HISTORY, FOLK-LORE, and distribution of the races of the North-Western Provinces 
of India, being an amplified edition of the original glossary of Indian terms, by the late Sir Henry M. Elliot, K. C. B. 
* * Edited, revised and re-arranged by John Beames M. R. A. S. * * London, Trubner & Co., 1869. 

2 Yols. 8 vo. 

HISTOIRE DE LA LITTERATURE HINDOUIE ET HINDUSTANIE. Par M. Garcin de Tassy, * * 

Seconde Edition. Paris. Adolphe Labitte, Libraire de la Socidtd Asiatique, 4, rue de Lille. 1870. 3 Vols. Crown 8 vo. 

The Masterpiece of this great Scholar. There is no other book in any language which can even approach it, as 
regards comprehensiveness, skilful arrangement and correctness in the minutest details. 

THE FOLK-SONGS OF SOUTHERN INDIA, by Charles E. Gover, Member of the Royal Asiatic Society and 
of the Society of Arts. Fellow of the Anthropological Society. London : Triibner and Co., 8 and 60, Paternoster 
Row. Madras: Higginbotham and Co. 1872. 

Contains translations of Canarese, Coorg, Tamil, Telugu and other songs : with a valuable introduction. See 
particularly Pp. VIII-X in which the author traverses the assertion made by Mr. Farrar, the author of Families of 
Speech, that, 

“ The Turanian peoples belong to the lowest paloeozoic strata of humanity * * * peoples whom no nation acknow¬ 

ledges as its kinsman, whose languages, rich in words for all that can be eaten or handled, seem absolutely incapable of ex¬ 
pressing the reflex conceptions of the intellect or the higher forms of the consciousness, whose life seens confined, to the glorification 
of the animal wants, with no hope in the future and no pride in the past. They are for the most part peoples without a literature 
and without a history, and many of them apparently as imperfectible as the Ainos of Jesso or the Yeddahs of Ceylon,—peoples 
whose tongues in some instances have twenty names for murder, but no names.for love, no name for gratitude, no name for God.” 

The Author of the Folk-songs of Southern India replies, 


( Vii ) 


“ This is but a fair description of the class to which are said to belong to the writers and learners of the songs this book 
contains. It will be seen that the Dravidian peoples possess one of the noblest literatures, from a moral point of view, the world 
has seen. Compare with the above, the remarks of the Revd. P. Percival, in his excellent book—“ The land of the Veda .”— 

* Perhaps no language combines greater force with equal brevity ; and it may be asserted that no human speech is more close 
and philosophic in its expression as an exponent of the mind * * the language, thus specified, gives to the mind a readiness and 

clearness of conception, whilst its terseness and philosophic idiom afford equal means of lucid utterance.’ The Revd. W. Tay¬ 
lor, the well known Dravidian scholar, declares of Tamil, the representative Dravidian tongue—It is one of the most copious, 
refined and polished languages spoken by man.’ And again in his Contalogue Raisonnee of Oriental MS.S. (vol. I. p. v.) ‘ It is 
desirable that the polish of the Telugu and Tamil poetry should be better known in Europe : that so competent judges might 
determine whether the high distinction accorded to Greek and Latin poetry, as if there were nothing like it in the world, is per¬ 
fectly just.’ Dr. Caldwell asserts—It is the only vernacular literature in India which has not been content with imitating the 
Sanscrit, but has honorably attempted to emulate and outshine it. In one department, at least, that of ethical epigrams, it is 
generally maintained, and I think must be admitted, that the Sanscrit has been outdone by the Tamil.’ Three such witnesses, 
added to the hundred this book— i. e., the folk-song of Southern India—contains, suffice to show that, whether as regards 
literature or morals, the Dravidian people are deserving of and entitled to the honor of omission from the Turanian family. 

This is no unimportant matter. Looking to the necessity that the governing race should not be disqualified from per¬ 
forming its noble task by laboring under a complete mistake as to the nationality, aspirations, feelings and error of the people 
it rules : seeing that the Dravidian peoples distinctly claim unity of race and origin with the yet more cultivated Sanscrit na¬ 
tion that has settled among them : knowing that Orientals look as much to points of etiquette, which require in their observer 
an accurate knowledge of popular social ideas, as to matters of stern fact—would as soon be robbed as loose a title : it is indis¬ 
putable that there can scarcely be a more serious and interesting question than that which would enquire of the true character 
and postion of the subject nation. All this is over and above that interest and value which is every where inherent in all at¬ 
tempts to learn the true life and the inner feelings of any portion of the great human brotherhood.’ 

For a number of Coorg, childrens’ rhymes, see page 143 where the familar 

This monkey went to market, 

This monkey staid at home, 

This monkey had roast beef, 

This one had none, 

And this one cried, “ pee-wee!” 

is shown to be an “ almost exact reproduction of the idea of the following song which has never before been heard 
beyond the confines of Coorg. Both songs are accompanied by the same action—the mother or nurse pulling each 
thiny finger as she refers to it in the song.” 

THE FINGERS. 

The little finger nail is small, 

The finger for the ring is good, 

The middle finger loveth coins, 

The fourth is called Kotera, 

The thumb is Miirutika, 

Both are gone for cheese. 

■-o——— 

THE TEN FINGERS. 

Count the little fingers and those that bear the ring, 

Middle fingers, fore fingers and the thumbs are ten. 

Surely the above, and several others quoted by Mr. Gover, have all come from the same nursery ? It is a matter 
for deep regret, that the talented author of this book died some few years ago, and the loss to Indian popular 
literature can easily be estimated by those who have read the Folk-songs of Southern India. 

ZOOLOGICAL MYTHOLOGY OR THE LEGENDS OF ANIMALS, by Angelo de Gubernatis, Professor of 
Sanskrit and Comparative literature in the Istituto de Studii Superiori e di perfezionamento, at Florence; Foreign Mem¬ 
ber ot the Royal Institute of Philology and ethnography of the Dutch Indies. In two volumes. London, Trubner and Co. 
60 Paternoster Row, 1872. This book is absolutely indispensable to every one who desires to become familiar with 
Indian Folk-lore. 

LA LANGUE ET LA LITTERATURE HINDUSTANIE de 1850, 1869. Discours d’ ouverture du 

cours d’ Hindustani, par M. Garcin de Tassy. Membre de 1’ Institut, Professeur 1’ Ecole speciale des langues Orien- 
tales vivantes, &c. Seconde Edition Paris. Libraire Orientale de Maisonnuueve et Cie : Quai Voltaire, 15. 1874. 




( viii ) 


There is no publication we believe, in Europe or in India, from which the state of Hindustanee literature may¬ 
be so distinctly ascertained, year by year, as from these annual Reviews, of some of which the above is a re-issue in one 
volume, by the late M. Garcin de Tassy C. S. I. &c. &c. (1794-1878), the veteran French Orientalist. Not only the books 
blit all the newspapers and societies which spring into existence are registered in detail. In addition to exhaustive 
notices of the literature of the year, each Review has appended to it an Oriental necrology. The last year treated of in 
these annual registers is, we believe 1877. 

THE RAMAYAN OF YALMIKI, Translated into English verse by Ralph T. IT. Griffith, M. A., Prin¬ 
cipal of the Benares College. London: Triibner and Co. Benares : E. J. Lazarus and Co: 1870. 5 vols : 8 vo: 

This will probably remain for many years the standard English translation of the great Indian Epic. The Intro¬ 
duction and notes afford very detailed information regarding this master piece. Also see Scenes from the Rdmdyan &c. 
and Idyls from the Sanskrit both by Mr. Griffith, who is the present Director of Public Instruction, North-Western 
Provinces. 

ALLEGORIES, RECITS POETIQUES, et Chants popularies, traduits de 1’ Arabe, du Persan, de 1’ Hindus¬ 
tani et du Turc, par M. Garcin de Tassy, Membre de 1’ Institut &c. Paris 1876. 

“ This collection is clothed in beautiful language and may serve as a model for elegant translation from one 
idiom with another, without doing violence either.” E. R. in Ind : Ant: 

BIBLIOTHECA ORIENTALIS, or a complete List of Books, Papers, Journals and Essays published in 1876, in 
England and the Colonies, Germany and France, on the History, Languages, Religions, Antiquities, Literature and 
Geography of the East. Compiled by Charles Friederici. London, Triibner and Co. Paris E. Leroux &c. &c. This very 
useful bibliographical list has been continued yearly, since 1876, and is indispensable to every Orientalist, whatever his 
particular line of study may be. 

THE RAMAYANA OF TULSI DAS, translated by F. S. Growse, M. A., B. C. S. Fellow of the Calcutta 
University. * * “The Ramayana of Tulsi Das is more popular and more honoured by the people of the North 

Western Provinces than the Bible is by the corresponding classes in England, Griffith.” Allahabad. North Western 
Provinces, Government Press. 1877. (This work—Books I-VII.— is now complete in 4 Yols. and is simply invaluable 
to all those who wish to become acquainted with the popular version of one of the celebrated epics of the world. This 
is the only translation, in any language, of the Hindee version of Yalmikis Sanskrit Ramayana, and its great importance 
may be gathered from the introduction, which contains the following information:— 

“ There can, of course, be no comparison between the polished phraseology of classical Sanskrit and the rough colloquial 
idiom of Tulsi D&s’s vernacular ; while the antiquity of V&lmxki’s poem further invests it with an adventitious interest for the 
student of Indian history. But, on the other hand, the Hindee poem is the best and most trustworthy guide to the popular 
living faith of the Hindee race at the present day—a matter of not less practical interest than the creed of their remote ances¬ 
tors,—and its language, which in the course of archaism, is a study of the greatest importance to the philologist, since it serves 
to bridge an otherwise impassable chasm between the modern style and the midiseval. It is also less wordy and diffuse than the 
Sanskrit original, and, probably in consequence of its modern date, is less disfigured by wearisome interpolations and repetitions ; 
while, if it never soars so high as Valmiki in some of his best passages, it maintains a more equable level of poetic diction, and 
seldom sinks with him into such dreary depths of unmitigated prose.” 

KINGS OF KASHMIRA; being a translation of the Sanskrit work, Rajatarangini of Kaklana Pandita. By 
Jogesb Chunder Dutt. Calcutta. * * * Published by the Author, 1879. 

The translator has thought it necessary to omit from the text such stories as relate to superhuman agencies, but 
has given them in a series of appendices. These stories are all very valuable, but it is to be regretted that, as far as we 
can discover, nowhere does he state what version of the Sanskrit text was used ; probably it was the edition published 
in the Bibliotheca Indica series of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, which recent discoveries have proved to be very corrupt. 
The translation into French by M. Troyer is also shown to be very faulty by such a competent judge, as Professor 
Buhler in whose Detailed report of a Tour in search of Sanskrit MSS. made in Kdshmir, Rajputana, and Central 
India, an Extra Number of the Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. Bombay 1877, a great 
deal of valuable information regarding the Rajatarangini will be found. 

CATALOGUE DES LIYRES ORIENTAUX, et autres composant la Bibliotheque de feu M. Garcin de Tassy, 
Membre de l’lnstitut * * Suivi du catalogue des manuscrits Hindoustanies, Persans, Arabes, Turcs. Redigd par 

M. F. Deloncle, Eleve de M. Garcin de Tassy, dont la vente aura lieu Lundi le 17 Mars 1879, et jours suivants * * 

Paris. Adolphe Labitte. Libraire de la Bibliotheque Nationale. 4 rue de Lille, 1879. 

Sale catalogue containing 2,975 numbers, well arranged and classified according to Brunet’s system, and prefaced 
by a very pleasing and appreciative notice of M. de Tassy, by Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire, with a protrait in photoglyptie. 
A very useful book of reference, as the library was a singularly comprehensive one, and we are happy to say that the 
books all fetched very high prices. 


( ix ) 


A NEW HINDUSTANI-ENGLISH DICTIONARY, with illustrations from Hindustani literature and Folk- 
lore, S. W. Fallon, Ph. D. Halle. Printed at the Medical Hall Press, Banaras. May be had, for cash only, of 
E. J. Lazarus & Co., Banaras. Triibner & Co., London, 1879. 

A rich mine of information regarding the spoken language of Hindustan. The preface and preliminary disserta¬ 
tion peculiarly valuable and interesting. The Dictionary itself full of illustrations from the most popular Hindustani 
proverbs, plays, songs, riddles &c. &c. The talented compiler of this Dictionary died, aged 63, on the 3rd October 1880, 
at Norwood near London, where he had gone on the completion of the above work to arrange for the publication of his 
unrivalled collection of Hindustani proverbs, upwards of 15,000 in number, and a selection of poems and folk-songs, 
accompanied by English translations. 

The reverse of this Dictionary-English-Hindustani—is now being published at Delhi, under the supervision of his 
daughter. The MSS: of the dissertation, on the language, literature and Folk-lore of Hindustan, which it was proposed 
to give at the end of the Hindustani-English Dictionary, but eventually postponed until the completion of the reverse 
Dictionary, has been left behind by Dr. Fallon in a complete state. 

INDIAN FAIRY TALES. Collected and translated by Maive Stokes, Calcutta 1879, 1st ed: 100 copies, 
privately printed. 

INDIAN FAIRY TALES. Collected and translated by Maive Stokes, with notes by Mary Stokes, and an Intro¬ 
duction by W. R. S. Ralston, M. A. London : Ellis and White, 1880. 

The incidents and plots of these Hindu tales, collected by a fair lady of only thirteen summers, are very like 
those which we find in Mdrchen all the world over, the book is a most charming one, the notes, added by the late Mrs. 
Stokes, being a rich mine of information on the subject of “ fairy” literature, and the introduction will be of great assis¬ 
tance to all beginners in the study of Folk-lore. 

NOTES AND QUERIES; a medium of intercommunication for Literary Men, general readers, &c. London, 
Published weekly by John Francis 20 Wellington street, Strand, W. C. 

Contains many notices of, and articles on, folk-lore and other kindred topics from all countries. The founder of 
this Journal, Mr. William J. Thoms, now Deputy Librarian, House of Lords, invented the word Folk-lore, and first 
publicly used it, at page 846 of the Athenaeum, 1846. 

Among various other sources of information regarding Indian popular literature and Folk-lore, we desire to 
indicate briefly the following:— 

Free intercourse wiih the people of the Land. 

The Calcutta Review, founded in 1844. A reprint of many of the articles that have from time to time appeared 
in this Quarterly is now being issued, and those more particularly of interest to Folk-loreists or Sociologists may 
possibly be included. An excellent Index to the first fifty volumes of the Calcutta Review, was issued from the City 
Press, Calcutta, in 1873. It is in two parts, the first consisting of a list of all the articles that appeared and of the 
books reviewed in them, arranged aphabetically according to the names of the authors. The second part is an Index, 
to subjects of importance noticed incidentally in the course of articles, under the titles of which it seemed probable 
that Readers might not look for them. Would that there were many more such Indices in the world. N. B.—The 
reprint, of the Calcutta Review articles, now being issued, is paged to correspond with the original folios, as well as 
consecutively. 

The Journal and Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 

The Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 

Publishers Catalogues, such as those issued by Thacker, Spink & Co. Calcutta; Thacker & Co., “Ld.” 
Bombay; Higginbotham & Co., Madras. The latter Firm making quite a speciality of publishing, inter alia, very valu¬ 
able books on subjects connected with Southern India, and they also issue excellent reprints of various books, such as 
Todd’s Rajasthan, &c. &c., Thacker, Spink of Calcutta have also lately begun a series of Indian reprints, the first being 
Malcolm’s Central India. 

* 

The classified catalogues with net cash prices, issued from time to time by Mr. Bernard Quaritch, 15, Piccadilly, 
London. 

Priced catalogue (in Urdu) of the Vernacular books sold or published at the Newul Kish ore Press, Lucknow. 
Among the various popular books published at this press in a collection of the poems of “Nazir” (Poet, and also means 
An high Officer of State) the nom de plume of Sheikh Mir Wali Muhammad, a native of Agra, died some 25 or 30 years 
ago. This man may be called the Burns, of Hindustan, and his poems and songs, as a rule in Hindee, are recited and 
sung all over the Upper Provinces. He is essentially a poet of the people, and has written some exceedingly clever poems, 


( x ) 


on common objects around us, such as tlie Jogi-namah, “ The Beggars story,” the Kauri-namah “ The tale of a 
cowrie”—the well known shell current as small change all over the country; the Banjara-namah, “What the 
packman said,” and others. “ Nazir” has sung of pure, Platonic love, in a few verses, which have been translated thus, 

“ I asked not who she was, nor spoke my thought : 

Naught she denied me, for I asked for naught; 

Not e’en a kiss; why did she chide me, pray ? 

Our meeting left me passion-free. I caught 

One look, was glad, was blest, and—went away.” 

The Pioneer, a daily News paper published at Allahabad contains from time to time very valuable articles 
on Indian popular literature, folk-lore and other kindred topics. Translations of Indian Volks-lieder appear now and 
then in this newspaper, a few of such articles as have recently appeared being, 

The Kazi of Jounpore, a ballad from the Urdu. “Anon,” 23th December 1875. 

Har ki pairi. “ Jatri.” 8th (?) May 1876. 

The Folk-songs of the North-Western Provinces, 28th May 1877. This article, unsigned, gives an account of 
how in 1876, when H. R. H. the Prince of Wales, on the road from Agra to Futtehpur Sikri, changed horses at a 
wayside village, some peasant girls who were assembled there dressed in their simple best, began to sing a volks-lied, 
the Prince was much struck with the incident and being anxious to know what they were singing about, a copy of the 
song was obtained, which was translated by Mr. H. G. Keene, B. C. S. (the well known author of various English poems 
and different works on Indian History, at that time Judge of Agra) and the version thus obtained, which we reprint be¬ 
low was duly submitted to His Royal Highness. 

SONG OF THE POOR HOLIDAY-MAKER. 

-oo- 

(Expressive of the hashful feelings of a poor girl asked to dance with a rich one as a partner.) 

I. 


A legend of Pownar 
A graceful Myth 
Durgavati 
At Girur 
An Urdu Ballad 
The Song of Savitri 


No fine scarlet scarf have I, 

Norkirtle of Arabian dye, 

If such you ask, I cannot hope, 

In the games with you to cope. 

Maiden fair! 

My shame is yours to share. 

II. 

Silver collars 0 ! forget. 

And the ropes of amulet, 

If such you ask, I cannot play, 

With you, this spring holiday, 

Maiden fair! 

My shame is yours to share. 

III. 

I have no bracelet strung with charms, 

Nor silver bangles for my arms; 

If such you ask, I cannot be 
One in your festivity, 

Maiden fair! 

My shame is yours to share. 

IY. 

Jingling gauds for joyful feet, 

Worn by me you will not meet; 

If such you ask, it is not mine, 

Hand-in-hand with you to shine, 

Maiden fair! 

But you my shame will share. 

“Pekin” .... ... 27th December 1877. 

(Unsigned) ... ... 6th March 1878. 

... “Pekin” ... ... 20th July „ 

„ ' ... ... 5th August „ 

(Unsigned) ... ... 5th April 1877. 

... - “Pekin” ...- ... 4th June „ 













( xi ) 


This is an interesting note on those folk-songs of the Deccan, which are the especial heritage of the female side 
in families. They are shown to be both numerous and well preserved. 

“ It is said however that in the decay which threatens many of the old institutions of Hindoo society, the careful tradi¬ 
tion from mother to daughter of poems for all festive occasions, and for private delectation, is beginning likewise to suffer 
neglect. Apart from other reasons, such a loss of ancient song would be deplorable for the cause that many of the poems that 
are yet preserved are filled with precepts for the correct guidance of wifely and domestic relations which the daily religion of 
the people (more occupied with ceremonials than with morals) does not otherwise provide. It is true that most of these 
precepts point to the propriety of an almost blind obedience to the authority of a husband, whom the wife is taught to re¬ 
verence as a God ; but such a plain rule of Conduct is better than none at all. Wifely devotion is held up as a virtue which 
raises to divinity. Thus, the name of Savitri is known to all Mahratta women as that of a goddess and of a human ensample 
at once. There is a day dedicated to Savitri, on which songs are sung in her honour. It is recorded of her that her quick 
wit, stimulated by deep love, availed her to recover her husband’s spirit out of the hands of the God of Death.” 

We are very glad to see that a reprint, of the Sketches in prose and verse, descriptive of scenes and manners in the 
Central Provinces of India, by “Pekin” that have appeared from time to time in The Pioneer, is announced (Christmas day 
1881 ) as being ready for issue. 

Files of judicial proceedings. 

Settlement Reports. 

Missionary Reports. 

Indian Government Blue books. 

Old family servants, a race fast dying out in India as is also the case in other lands. Many ayahs (nurses) sing 
very curious old cradle songs, well worthy of record. In fact the cradle songs of the people generally are very expres¬ 
sive and have a wonderfully soothing sound. Many of those sung by the women in Kashmir are particularly beautiful. 
“Sudfah” a very celebrated male dancer and singer of Srinagar sings some of these very sweetly and with great 
expression, and his Persian songs generally are also very good. 

We could easily have increased our Postface, (well Reader! you talk of a Preface, why may we not coin a word for 
what ig said at the end of a book ?. At all events the word savours less of red tape than appendix) to an almost inde¬ 
finite extent, but our Friend the printer reminds us that lie must keep faith with Mr. (Oudh) Punch, and already we fear 
that we have, like honest Dogbery, found it in one heart to bestow all our tediousness upon our Gentle Readers, still 
we have just sufficient discretion left not to do so all at once, but reserve some for a future occasion, if, in the words of 
the Persian proverb below, any Friends are still to the fore. 


Segundra Bagh Road: ) 

Lucknow , 29 tli December 1881. / 


A. C. 














































PUBLISHED THIS DAY. 

A selection from the illustrations which have appeared in the Oudh Punch from 18 77 to 1881, 
with an Introduction, Explanatary Notes to each Plate and a Postface, all in English. In crown folio, 
with 20 plates, and out side wrapper and head and tail pieces in the Oriental style. 

PRICE PER COPY, SIX RUPEES. 

Packing and postage to any part of India one rupee extra. 

„ „ „ to any Country in the Postal Union, one Rupee eight annas. 

Apply to the Oudh Punch Office, Golagunj, Lucknow. 


TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION 

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“THE OUDH PUNCH.” 


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One copy per week, delivered free to any address in Lucknow Rs. 12 0 

To any post town in India or Burma ... „ 12 13 

The United Kingdom, including postage via Brindisi ... „ 16 14 

Any other country in the Postal Union ... „ 15 14 


Note. —The above rates are strictly for cash in advance, and all remittances, must be 
payable free of exchange in Lucknow, whether by Money order. Bank draft or Cheque. 

Address, 

To 

THE PROPRIETOR, 

“ THE OUDH PUNCH,” NEWS-PAPER, 

LUCKNOW, 


INDIA. 










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